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Welcome to St. Mary's Church in Haughton Green! Whether you've just moved to the area, or have lived here all your life, we hope our website helps you to find out everything you want to know about our Church. If you are new we know that coming to church for the first time may seem a little bit intimidating, so we'd like to make your visit easier by helping you understand what can happen at our services, as well as a bit about further Church life such as groups, socials, events, etc.
What to expect
All of our Sunday morning services start at 10:30am. Doors open 30 minutes before the service starts, and the service usually lasts about an 1 hour and 15 minutes. Pre-service prayers take place every Sunday at 10:15am (at the front of Church) for anyone wishing to join in. We encourage you to introduce yourself to a member of the Welcome Team who will be there to greet you at the door and give you a copy of our Weekly Notice Sheet. If there’s anything you’d like to know about St Mary’s, just ask! We do not have a dress code, so you do not need to worry about what to wear, just come as you are!
Refreshments
Refreshments are available after the service each week, served by our dedicated volunteer team. You can grab a drink (or cake!) from the back of the Church, served by a member of our refreshments team.
Sunday Services
All-Age Worship: On the 1st Sunday of the month, we have our family service. This is a more interactive service carried out by our All Age team and particularly aimed at the Church as a family (getting to know one another and deepening our relationships), with a segment of the service and some activities for the children. There will be age-appropriate worship, songs, bible stories and teachings, and games/activities for all ages. There are no children's groups during this service, but the sermon is catered towards people of all ages (children and families in particular) and includes quizzes, games, and child participation. We will also have an area in the left back corner of the Church which is set up as our 'Kiddie Corner', which will have soft toys for anyone with a baby/young child to sit. We like to encourage you to stay for the service where possible, so wanted to provide a space for parents to sit with their children during the service. During this service, we also invite those who have a birthday that month to come to the front where we will sing 'Happy Birthday' and they will be able to pick a book from our bookstall as a birthday present from St. Mary's. If you are new to St. Mary's and have children, we would advise this as your introductory service. It's a great time for everyone to stay in Church and worship together and is heavily family-focused.
Holy Communion: Once a month, on the 2nd Sunday, we take communion as part of our service. This is where we share bread and wine as a reminder of Jesus' sacrifice for us. This isn't compulsory and you are free to stay sitting during this time, or come to the front and receive prayer, if you do not wish, or are unable to take communion (children and those who have not been baptised). The Vicar/leader administering communion will explain everything before we start. Our children's groups (Little Faith/Crèche and Children's Church) will be on during this service.
Morning Praise: On the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sunday of the month we have our Morning Praise service. This is our general worship, which whilst all ages are welcome, the sermons are aimed more at adults. Our children's groups will meet during these services (during Tameside term-time). In this service there will be a mix of contemporary and traditional worship music for everyone.
Sunday Youth and Children's Groups
Our children's groups meet each week during our Sunday services (excluding the 1st Sunday of the month which is a family service). We have 3 Sunday groups for different age groups which are; Little Faith, Children's Church and Pathfinders. The children will start off in Church for the first 20 minutes of the service (for the welcome and family slot video) before they go with the leaders to their own groups where they will have age appropriate games, teachings and prayer. For those with young children, on the Sundays we do not have crèche (Little Faith), we will have our 'Kiddie corner' set up in Church where the children can play with soft toys whilst parents are able to stay in the service.
Little Faith & Crèche (Luke 18:15-17) - No one is too old or too young to worship - and in Little Faith, that is just what we do! Songs, sticking, stories and play make for a lovely morning of worship and praise for our little ones, aged 0-4 (pre-school). We have a fantastic DBS checked team who run Little Faith, who will look after your children or welcome you into the group if you wish to stay!
Children's Church (Psalm 34:11, The Message) - Children's Church is our Sunday morning church for those aged 4-11 (primary school age). Our aim is that the children will know more about the love of God when they leave than when they came in, fun, food and family are important parts of our Kids worship.
Pathfinders - Pathfinders is our group for children/teenagers aged 11-16 (secondary school), who meet from 4:30-6pm in our Church Centre (2nd/4th Sunday). Our aim is to grow closer to Jesus through bible teaching and discussing what it means for us, as grow closer in friendship through having fun, games, and chatting. The teenage years are when questions and opinions develop and we have a great team of leaders who are there to guide our young people through these formative years in relevant, fun, and sometimes, challenging ways.
We also have various groups on throughout the week for children/families and adults including community toddler group 'Little Lambs', Messy Church, Exercise & Fitness Groups and more. For more information, click here!
If you would like to here more about our Christmas services, click the button to subscribe to our mailing list receive our Weekly Notice Sheet and/or Church Updates, service and event invites!
St. Mary's Church Office
Our Church Office Opening days/times are; Wednesday 11am-5pm & Thursday 9am-5pm. You can contact the office by phone (0161 336 4529), email (office@smhg.org.uk), or via the website/social media. If you would like to meet with our Church Administrator (Sally) in person please contact the office to make arrangements in advance.