WELCOME TO ST GEORGE'S CHURCH
St George's Church in Benfleet is a community of believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We are a family of Christians who seek to love God and to love others.
Our prayer is that you will come to know Jesus for yourself and in doing so become part of God’s family with us.
OUR VALUES
Here at St George’s we aspire to be:
People who proclaim the Good News of Jesus and welcome those who are new to faith.
A church that joins with Jesus in His ministry to our wider community.
An all-age community that is growing in number and in depth of fellowship with God, with one another and in Christian character.
People whose church buildings are a hub for the local community as an easy access to the life of the church.
A community where all are accepted and loved and are encouraged to be the people God wants them to be.
A church that listens to the needs and concerns of the local community.
People who are comfortable with new technology including Social Media providing for deeper networking and more effective communication of the gospel.
People who work closely with other churches.
A church where we are sent out into the world in the power of the Spirit to live and work to God’s praise and glory.
Worshippers who enjoy fresh charismatic dynamism in our church services.
St George's is your Church of England Parish Church
We are affiliated to the New Wine Network of churches
St George's is within the Diocese of Chelmsford
Ensuring the Safeguarding of everyone is an absolute priority for our Parish. To that end the PCC have formally adopted the House of Bishops’ ‘Promoting a Safer Church: Safeguarding Policy Statement’
The Parish Safeguarding Officer may be contacted via the Parish Email address or Parish Office phone number (see below)
BEING TOGETHER
Our Shared Activities
MIDWEEK PRAYER
Church Porch Open
Daily 8:30 - 4:30
Prayer time
Tue 07:00 - 07:30
We open the porch of the main church building daily both as a place of private prayer as well as a drop-off point for the Yellow Door food bank on Canvey Island.
We are deeply grateful for, and moved by, the ongoing food donations from church members and local residents alike.
SERVICES
1st Sunday 09:30am Holy Communion, 11:00 Contemporary Service
2nd Saturday Messy Church 16:00 (with dinner)
2nd Sunday 09:30 Holy Communion, 18:00 Worship in the Hub
3rd Sunday 09:30am Holy Communion, 11:00 Contemporary Service
4th Sunday 09:30am Holy Communion, 11:00 Contemporary Service
Last Sunday 08:30 BCP Holy Communion
Messy Weekends (the second in the month) see our Sunday 11am service move to Saturday afternoon at 4pm. A time for all ages with family activities, a space for teens, seminars for adults and a shared meal together in the hall.
Sunday morning service formats rotate between:
Table Sundays - Centred around Holy Communion
Prayer Sundays - Centred around extended periods of prayer
Guest Sundays - Services use simple accessible language
Sharing Sundays - Opportunities for church members to share their own stories of God working in their life
Ministry Sundays - 11am service will be slightly extended to allow for more freedom for worship in song and ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit
18:00 - 19:00 A time of intimate worship with space for sharing as led by the Holy Spirit in a Cafe style environment. An opportunity to explore and grow moving in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
HOME GROUPS
Mid week groups meeting in private homes
(enquire for details)
There are a number of different home groups which run through the week based in the homes of host leaders.
Please enquire for more information about venues, days and times.
MESSY WEEKENDS
Saturdays
9th March
11th May
8th June
13th July
14th September
12th October
9th November
14th December
Messy Saturdays are a time for the whole church family to come together and engage in lots of fun activities as we explore God's word together. For families there are messy crafts, games, songs and stories which aim to help us explore God's love for us in his Son Jesus though the power of the Holy Spirit.
For teens there is a special space with games machines, board games and other activities.
For adults there is the prayer room and a seminar running during the families activity session.
The Messy Church sessions take place on a Saturday afternoon between 4pm and 6:00pm incorporating dinner which is provided.
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
C S Lewis
LIFE EVENTS
BAPTISMS
Baptism is the ancient Christian initiation into the family of God's Church. It was instituted by Jesus in the Gospel's and something He himself underwent as a sign and symbol of his purity and rightness with God.
In our age baptism is offered to Adults or Children. Adults are expected to be able to express their faith in Jesus Christ for themselves and for Children this is done on their behalf by Sponsors (Parents and Godparents).
Here at St George's we would hope that a desire for baptism would be accompanied by an intention to become a fully participatory member of the Parish Church demonstrated by attendance at services or other events.
WEDDINGS
We are always delighted to conduct weddings for people here at St George's. In order to be married here you will need to show that at least one of the couple live within the Parish or that you have a "Qualifying Connection" to the Parish (eg A parent was married here, you were baptised here etc.)
We will be very happy to support you through the legal process for a church wedding. You may also find the Church of England's own site to be of use in deciding on the type of wedding you would like. https://www.yourchurchwedding.org
FUNERALS
Of course not everything is a happy event and there is also a place for sadness and mourning as a normal part of life. At St George's we count it a privilege to be able to walk some of the tough bits of life's path with you.
Irrespective of whether you or your loved one engage in an active Christian faith we consider it an honour to be able to pray with those who are dying or mourning and to conduct a service with you to say your farewells. Please contact us directly or ask your funeral director to make contact with us on your behalf.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”