The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

The church is its people.  At HPC we’re fortunate to have a large staff, many churches have to manage without, but the church still wouldn’t run without its volunteers.   Think about the people you see on a Sunday – the sidesmen, welcomers and servers, the readers and intercessors.  Think about the clean pews and flower arrangements, the children’s groups, the coffee served in the crypt.  It all takes people.   And almost always it takes more people than we have to spread the load.  No one wants to be on duty every week but for some that’s close to  reality.  So month by month we’re going to feature one area of church work that needs support, starting with Church Stewards.

Church stewards are largely unseen by the congregation – like the church mice they tend to come out when the church is empty.  You can’t tell on a Sunday that they’ve been in during the week but without them we couldn’t keep the church open.  One evidence of their presence is to be found in the Visitors’ Book – the comments of visitors who were glad to find the church open; another might be the number of votive candles used during the week and the prayer requests in the book on the South Chapel altar from people who came in need and found comfort.           

It’s getting more difficult, though, to find enough people to keep the church open every day.  There are times when the office is closed or only one member of staff is on duty and at those times we should have someone in the church.   And it’s always nice for visitors to see a friendly face when they come in.

You don’t have to sit and play finger games – you can read, sew, pray, work, anything so long as it isn’t so absorbing visitors feel they can’t interrupt you.  There are guide books for you to give visitors or mug up on a bit of church history if you feel so inclined.  You could even come with a friend and spend some time catching up on each other’s news. 

Think about it – wouldn’t you like an excuse to sit in a quiet place and relax for a couple of hours now and then?   (We generally suggest two hour slots but even the odd hour would help.)

Please contact Judy on [email protected] if you think you might be able to help.