About Us
Some of St John’s principles
We are part of the Church of England, look to the authority of Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury and Andrew, Bishop of Guildford, and accept the tradition and discipline of the Anglican Church. We are part of the Catholic tradition in the Anglican Church, and believe it is part of the Catholic Church throughout the world, including the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox. We are part of a Group Ministry with other Anglican churches in the area, and of Churches Together In Godalming & District, which includes other churches too.
Our worship is sacramental. That is, we believe Jesus Christ works in his Church and in our hearts through certain acts, including baptism and communion.
Our teaching is orthodox. We think deeply, we ask plenty of questions, but we believe in the historic Christian faith taught by the Church of England and the Catholic Church throughout the world, expressed in the statements of belief called the Creeds developed by the early Church.
Our style is open. We don’t believe we have the right to deny Christ to his people, and welcome all to his sacraments. Come and tell us your story – we will listen and do what we can to help.
We’ve recently compiled a very short summary card which lays out how we think of ourselves and what we aim to do:
The church is usually open from 9am to 3pm daily and often until 5.30pm when Evening Prayer is said. There is a place to light candles and leave written prayers which we will always look at and pray through too. Sometimes the church has to be closed unavoidably so we apologise if this causes any inconvenience.
Some of St John’s People
The Churchwardens are Helen Gee and Geoff Coote. The Wardens are elected each year by the congregation to represent and lead them.
The Rector is James Rattue. James was ordained in 2005 and served as Curate in Weybridge before becoming Rector of Farncombe in 2009. He used to work as a museum curator in Wimborne, Chatham and High Wycombe.
Our Pastoral Assistants are Sue Petty and Penny Rivers. Sue used to chair the Farncombe Day Centre and organises a variety of community initiatives from the church. Penny is a former Town Councillor and Mayor of Godalming. Our current team also includes Lay Reader Gertrud Sollars and two retired clergy, former Rector of Weybridge Brian Prothero and ex-hospital chaplain David Hobden.
We have a Facebook page with regular updates and news, which you can find here.
In 2012 the church underwent a major refurbishment and put in a new single-level wooden floor, modern wooden seating, and new lighting. The furniture was designed by Irish Contract Seating and you can find out more about them here.
You can read our Data Privacy Statement, the principles controlling how we store and process personal details, here.
You can read the Rector’s Reports, a summary of each year’s life in the church, at these links: