Church of Sanctuary

Rev Ian Folks, presenting Church of Sanctuary award to Sandra Morton (chair, SASS) and Ach Monytoch (trustee, SASS) who are members of St James’ congregation.

We’re proud to be a Church of Sanctuary, one of only two in Swansea. The award was given in recognition of our hosting, involvement in and support of Swansea Asylum Seeker Support, and for how we support and integrate asylum seekers and refugees into our congregation.

In giving us the award, Swansea City of Sanctuary said:
'St James’ Church has shown evidence of learning about sanctuary, embedding activities across the Church that are welcoming and inclusive of those with lived experience, and sharing understandings more widely. ...The panel would like to thank you for all of your efforts, and for continuing to promote a culture of welcome in Swansea!'

Rev Ian Folks, vicar said:
'St James is deeply proud of its long association with Swansea Asylum Seeker Support. It is a pleasure and privilege to host and be involved in the work that goes on there, providing essential support and empowering those who have come to our city. Our scriptures encourage us to look at the stranger in need as a friend and neighbour, and to come alongside to provide help. But from this, friendships of equality develop and community is built. Churches have a unique resource in our huge buildings and the folk who make up our congregations. They can be a powerful force of welcome and hospitality, and our hope and prayer is that they will make an ever greater contribution to the welcome that our city rolls out to those who need us.’

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service in the church centre next door. It is a great way to meet people. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access at the rear of the church, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are toilets in the church centre next door.

Our Service

We hope that whether you've never been to church, or you've been coming for decades, you'll be at home and you can experience God's presence. The main service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome and notices about what's coming up. Our services are a mix of old and new - contemporary songs led by a good music group. alongside traditional hymns and prayers which have sustained generations of Christians around the world. Preaching is designed to make the bible come alive and be relevant for our daily lives. Every Sunday morning we join in Holy Communion, which keeps our worship anchored in what God has done for us in Jesus. So our services are about both a personal encounter with God, and about establishing our faith in deep biblical wisdom, prayers and traditions of the wider church.

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What about children?

We have a popular children's programme, led by Sherry, our Child and Family worker and a team of helpers. If you're bringing children, have a chat with a member of the team when you arrive - our welcomers will direct you.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, first hymn and prayers. During a second song children leave for the church centre.

The children's group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, praying, and a mix of music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Our Eco Church group occasionally take sessions in the church grounds, and the vicar Ian leads some sessions too. Children come back into the service for communion and either sit with parents or with each other. We sometimes have all age services where children take a leading role, particularly on special days.

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Other activities

Growing in faith

We have a programme through the year of different types of courses and groups. In the last year, we have done the Prayer Course, had in-depth teaching sessions on the Cross, and Salvation & Life after Death; spiritual gifts; and books of Daniel and 1 John. We have an annual lecture series, which in recent years has looked at literature and faith and science and faith. We're looking to do the Start course for those wanting an introduction to faith, and later in the year the Bible course. These are usually on Thursday evenings at 7pm in the church centre, sometimes you can join on Zoom. And there's a prayer group at 9.15am on Thursday mornings.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

After school club
Healing ministry
We host and actively support Swansea Asylum Seeker Support

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Rev Ian Folks, Vicar		Sherry Tanagho
Ian has been at St James since 2021, and has lived in the Uplands area since 1993. He's married to Vanessa, and they have children Daisy and Amelie. He's passionate about developing healing ministry and children's ministry. He loves walking on the Gower, playing guitar and is afflicted with a love of cricket and Tottenham Hotspur.		Sherry is our Children and Family worker. Originally from Egypt, Sherry is married to Ramon and their daughter is Rossanda. Sherry has been at St James since November 2022.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes
Ian, Sherry and the team