We welcome everyone to our church and include anyone who is disabled for whatever reason, their families and friends. We are a thriving and expanding congregation and the church and its facilities provide a range of services to the local community. This statement is intended to cover the chapel, the church halls, kitchen and toilets. It is intended to help you to know what can be expected of our buildings and practices.
Parking and Transport
There is a tarmacked car park with larger marked bays for disabled visitors. There is also a public car park adjacent to the church on Gipping Way.
The church also offers a free mini-bus collection service to all. We have our own accessible minibus, equipped with low-level access steps, grab rails and a tail lift for wheelchair users. We also have child booster seats available for transporting young children over 3 years of age.
Our Building
Church entrance doors lead directly to the car park and there are no ramps or steps to negotiate in order to access our buildings. The main entrance consists of two outward opening doors and is always open when services are held.
A steward will be in attendance, to accommodate wheelchair or pushchair access. The area inside the doors is clear and readily accessible.
The seating in the chapel is Victorian wooden pews. There are areas within the chapel where pews have been removed to facilitate wheelchair users.
There is also a large open space at the rear of the chapel with cushioned seating, which can be moved to accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs.
There are disabled toilet facilities by the main entrance as well as baby changing facilities.
The church is fitted with an induction loop system for the benefit of hearing aid users. A public address system is used for all services.
There are large print service books available from the stewards.
At various times during services the presiding minister will invite the congregation to stand. You are most welcome to remain seated if this is more comfortable for you or is necessary in your circumstances. During communion services it is our practice that the congregation will remain seated and the deacons of the church will distribute the bread and wine. We use gluten free bread, and red grape juice is used as a substitute for wine.
The church hall is a two-storey building with no lift or assisted access to the first floor, therefore the majority of public meetings will be held on the ground floor. Any meetings planned to be held on the first floor will always be changed to the ground floor whenever necessary for inclusion of all visitors to the building.
We hope that you will have found this statement to be of help. We would welcome practical solutions for improvement both to the chapel and church halls.
Please contact us for any further information.