Warm Welcome – An Inclusive Church

At Woking United Reformed Church, we really do try to live out our motto ‘Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here’. We are keen to give everyone a warm welcome and enable them to feel included in church life. We recognise that many of those who come into our premises have disabilities, seen and unseen, and we are continually seeking to equip the church to increase its disability awareness.

In our Sunday morning worship, we make use of Makaton, which is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs, and speech to enable people to communicate. Care and consideration are also given to the seating arrangements for those whose eyesight is somewhat impaired, and anyone in that situation is, as far as is possible, offered a seat with a good view of a screen. Similarly, those with hearing impairments, and perhaps relying heavily on being able to read the lips of those on the dais so as to understand what is going on, are offered seats towards the front of the sanctuary so that they can see more clearly.

We have liaised with ‘Through the Roof’ which is a Christian disability charity, and their experience and knowledge has helped to increase the Church’s disability awareness.

AV Upgrade | Kitchen Refit | Open Doors

Audio Visual Upgrade

During 2020 a new audio-visual system was installed into the church – upgrading the existing infrastructure to professional grade equipment which has been fully used to live-stream the services on a weekly basis. This enables us to live stream our services online to those unable to attend in person, and the mlutiple displays aim to provide maximum visibility to those in the Sanctuary.

  • 4 new LED displays and relay speakers in the Sanctuary
  • New coloured LED lighting system – offering new visuals as well as improved energy performance controlled via a touchscreen PC
  • 2 new cameras and associated mixing and control unit
  • Integration of audio and visual components to a switching system allowing live-streaming

With thanks to the below for grants to help fund this project:

  • Worplesdon URC
  • John Beane
  • Church AV Appeal

Kitchen Re-fit and upgrade

The kitchen has also been stripped back and refitted to a professional standard. Improving the layout for users and adding new equipment

  • new heated servery
  • new industrial dishwasher
  • existing worktops replaced with aluminium counters and sinks
  • improved chilled and ambient storage

With thanks to the below for grants to fund this project: