Who are we?

St John’s is a Bible-based evangelical Anglican church open to the moving of the Holy Spirit.

• We are a united, warm, supportive fellowship who are friendly and welcoming to all.
• We believe that we are here to honour God by knowing and loving Jesus better ourselves, and making Him known to others.
• We aim to show the love of Christ for all – in pastoral care, inclusion of all ages, community involvement and an outward looking focus.
• We look to the Holy Spirit to lead and equip us, and we rely on the power of prayer.

Parish History

St John’s church and parish were conceived in the early 1860s to provide an overflow for the high church Priory and also to act as an evangelical witness in the town. It was built by public subscription and consecrated in 1869. The original Patron, the Foljambe family, had close links with the Church Pastoral Aid Society and transferred the Patronage to them about 100 years ago. We still support CPAS and receive help from them in training and advice.

In the late 1970s St John’s began to explore a vision for a church at the north end of the parish: Sunday services were held for years in community centres before a plot of land was purchased in faith. In the 1980s and early 90s, St John’s and others gave sacrificially to build a new church – Christ Church. It opened in 1993 with half of our congregation and became a separate parish in 2006.