Plan Your Visit
Christ Church St. James welcomes all to our community of faith.
We want you to feel welcome and comfortable during your first visit with us, so we’ve prepared some quick notes on what you can expect to see and do at CCSJ on a Sunday morning.
When should I arrive?
Sunday morning service gets started at 10:00 am. We invite you to come earlier and take in our space or meet some of us.
What about parking?
We do have a parking lot on the north side of the church; however, it’s fairly small and we overflow into the little lot of the Humber Bay Library branch building beside us. We can park on the sides of Park Lawn Rd. itself, and across the street on both the north and south sides of Ringley Ave. in the morning.
What door do I use to get in?
The main door is on Park Lawn Rd. Head for the ramp or stairs leading up to the big glass entrance. Somebody is usually welcoming people into the church at the front door – even in winter!
Our elevator services the parking lot level, the main floor of the church and the church hall in the basement. Use the white door of the elevator entrance off the parking lot to access the church in this way. Summon the elevator by entering 1940# on the keypad and pressing and holding the call button to summon it. Once inside, turn the key to the ON position (3 o’clock) and press and hold the button for the desired floor. When exiting, set the key position to OFF (12 o’clock) so that it can be summoned by someone else.
What about washrooms?
The main floor of the church has an accessible washroom right off the cloakroom in the front foyer. Other accessible washrooms are at the bottom of the stairs, outside the doors to the Church Hall.
What about money?
We’re a bit weird for a church – we don’t pass the plate around. You’re our guest – guests don’t have to pay for being a guest.
We expect that our members should be responsible for helping to make CCSJ a great place to belong to – that’s our job.
When you feel like joining us in membership, we will be happy to accept your regular offering – our Lord knows we’re doing lots of things in this place! (Just check out the Events calendar!) In the meantime, if you feel like contributing right now, there are envelopes at the back of the church where you came in or you can check out the Support Us page for more options.
What should I wear?
We’re super casual – some people dress up; some people dress down – we figure God knows what we look like already, so there’s no need to impress Him. We’re air conditioned in summer (but not freezing – it’s still a big space) and comfortably heated in winter.
So the dress code is – wear clothes!
What are my options for my kids?
Plenty! Kids (2+ and older) are welcome to come up for a Children’s Time just after the Praise Hymn, before they head to the Children’s Ministry programs downstairs. They will come back up in time for Communion.
Younger children are welcome to use the Nursery – either as a refuge during the service to come and go, or to stay with our Nursery volunteers. Please pick them up when Communion starts.
Teenagers are welcome to join our volunteer Youth Group leader downstairs for a program. They will also come back up to re-join the congregation for Communion.
Children are also quite welcome to remain with their parents in the service for the entire time – we’re a “no pressure” environment!
What should I expect in the service?
You should expect songs to be sung together, prayers to be said privately and all together, to hear readings from the Bible, and to have Communion (the bread and wine of Jesus’s body and blood) together.
We follow the Anglican Book of Alternative Prayer (mostly), enjoy good traditional and contemporary music, and are Bible-centred. The service is displayed on the screen at the front (with large print versions of the songs available for all of us whose eyes need a little help).
We take Communion in “batches” (about 30 at a time) and we stay at the Lord’s Table until everyone in the “batch” has received. Children are welcome to receive Communion too – Jesus loves us all.
