St Michael & All Angels
Bexhill on Sea

Our Church

St Michael's is a friendly welcoming church with a range of services for all the family.

We are situated at the East End of Bexhill in Glassenbury Drive.

Please feel free to explore our site to get a feel for who we are, and what we do.

We look forward to seeing you in church in the near future.

St Michael's Church is a member of the Bexhill Parish Team Ministry with St Peter's Church - http://www.stpetersbexhill.org.uk within the Bexhill and Battle Deanery, a group of churches linked together geographically.

Brief History of the Church

In 1924 a decision was taken to build a church in the East side of Bexhill anticipating the expansion of the town in this direction and with the intention of easing the overcrowding in term time of the churches of St Peter and St Barnabas. At the time there were many private schools in the area.

Having chosen the site, on the then empty Glyne Hill, the church rose quickly and was dedicated on the eve of Ascension Day, May 28th 1930. The final Consecration took place in 1933. The war years were spent quietly with most of the private schools being evacuated away from the South Coast, but once a curate's house had been purchased in Glassenbury Drive the church was able to develop its own ministry to the expanding East Bexhill.

The Church is built in a Gothic revival style from locally made bricks and dressed stone. The interior has a Sussex barn roof.

The tower was hung with tiles in the 1960's to try to ameliorate the damage done by the sea air to the pointing. The very large altar had originally fitted into the alcove below the East window and had later been brought to the centre of the raised area in the sanctuary. With the re-ordering of the church in 1997, the altar was remade into the pedestal seen now and moved centrally in the sanctuary, which was extended into the present apron. The wall hangings were commissioned and created to fill the alcove.

The addition of a hall in 1961 allowed the introduction of the community activities that have been a feature of our outreach ever since. This hall had to be replaced in 2003. The large hall was built in 1972, or rather rebuilt, as it had served for many years as the gymnasium of St Francis School by Bexhill Down. These halls are in daily use with a variety of activities for all age groups.

The East window was designed and supervised by Marion Cantrell. The creative processes and installation were carried out by Shades of Light in Shadwell, London. It was dedicated on St Michael's Day 2003. The shapes extend and echo those in the panels below. The central dove of the Holy Spirit is surrounded with etched flames representing the sacraments. The haloes, each engraved with a different design, lift the angels, from the panels below, heavenwards. The curved shapes in the four outer panels can be seen as wings, as in the panels below, as praying figures, or as enfolding hands supporting and uplifting us. The play of light across the "reaming" of the hand blown glass adds another dimension to the etching. The appearance and emphasis of the window is ever changing with the variations of the light streaming in.

The Embroidered hangings were designed and worked by Marion Cantrell in 1997 and reflect the shape of the window lights. The whole depicts the Church as one body, with symbols to portray St Michael and All Angels and, essentially, holiness. The central panel depicts light reaching out and the eternal serpent slain by the cross or sword of Christ's sacrifice. The outer panels have angelic symbols and silhouette human shapes and are reversible.

The West end of the church was re-ordered in 2007. The north door was widened to allow wheelchair access and the walls were rendered to match to those of the Sanctuary. In 2014 a whole new roof was done with stonework cleaned up on the South facing side.

Who is Who

Team Vicar Rev Carol Cockcroft

Church Groups

Lunch Club - Meets every other Monday; 12.00-2.00pm. See poster below for more details.

Prayer Groups, Healing Prayers, Church Prayers and House Groups

For further information on any of these Groups, please email us on enquiries@stmichaelsbexhill.org and we will be happy to get back to you as soon as possible.

Church Warden
Iain Scott-Dickeson

Reader
Alison Marchant

Deputy Warden
Jill Andrews

Deputy Warden

Ruth Gregory

The Wider Church

St Michael's Church is a member of the Bexhill Parish Team Ministry with St Peter's Church - www.stpetersbexhill.org.uk within the Bexhill and Battle Deanery, a group of churches linked together geographically.

The Diocese of Chichester is one diocese of the forty-four within the Church of England. For more information please visit their website The Church of England.

The Church of England is the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. For more information please visit their website The Anglican Communion.

The Bexhill and Battle Deanery is one of eight deaneries within the Lewes and Hastings Arch-deaconry, which in turn is one of the three archdeaconries that make up Diocese of Chichester. Chichester is our Cathedral city and the seat of the Bishop.

Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults

Our policy is reviewed each year and details are found on our main church noticeboard.

Protecting the vulnerable is at the very heart of the Christian faith. Our safeguarding work in church is an expression of God’s kindness and compassion and of our commitment to the gospel. The Church of England website presents the safeguarding policy and practice guidance documents, all of which have been adopted by the Diocese of Chichester and which we wholeheartedly endorse and commend to you for your attention.
https://safeguarding.chichester.anglican.org/

All individuals and parents/guardians have given their permission to have their photos included on this website. If you have any issues or concerns, please feel free to contact our Safeguarding Officer Jill Andrews on 07790683704 who will be able to advise you.

For full details, please refer to St Peter's church website www.stpetersbexhill.org.uk which provides further information.

Jill Andrews

Data Protection GDPR

25th May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Your privacy is important to us, and we want to communicate with church members in a way which has their consent, and which is in line with UK law on data protection.

For full details, please refer to St Peter's church website www.stpetersbexhill.org.uk which provides further information.

Fundraising

These days, most people are aware that churches do not receive any central funding and have to be self-supporting financially; our Charity Registration number is 1131504.

Currently, we have to raise about 20% of our costs via additional fundraising. With the current 'credit crunch' having an adverse effect on fundraising for many charities, Easyfundraising https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/cause/stmichaelallangelsbexhill/ is an easy way of raising extra funds, at no cost to ourselves.

The Easyfundraising site itself, once you are registered, enables your chosen cause (St Michael's) to benefit by receiving anything from 0.5% to 15% of any online purchase you may make through its site.

Likewise, Easyfundraising will donate 50% of advertising fees received from its sponsors to your chosen cause (St Michael's) for every online search you make.

Click on the above links to help raise funds for our church!

Current Church Services and Activities

Church Services

The worship at St Michael's is centered around Holy Communion and normally follows the following pattern:

Sundays
10.30am Holy Communion with sung hymns
10.30am Family Service (3rd Sunday)

Coffee and Tea are normally served in our Large Hall.

Weekday Services

11.00am Said Holy Communion every Wednesday.

(Services may change in special seasons of the Church's year, i.e. Easter and Christmas, with extra services at these festivals; to mark certain other occasions i.e. Ascension, All Saints, and to commemorate particular Saints.)

Baptisms

If you would like your child baptised at St Michael's, we would be delighted to welcome you into the church family and to discuss arrangements and preparations for this wonderful celebration.

Baptisms usually take place during our 11.00am Family Service, although not exclusively. Baptisms should normally be conducted in the church in the parish in which you are resident. If you are not sure which is your parish church, please check the website www.achurchnearyou.com. When you arrive at the site, type in your postcode and it will tell you which parish you are in.

There are no set fees for a service of Baptism although as part of the service there will be a money collection taken. Baptism Certificates are available for a small fee of £18 as at February 2023. A table of parochial fees can be found on the Church of England website https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/clergy-resources/life-events-parochial-fees-and-guidance.

In preparation for the Baptism, you will be asked to choose at least three Godparents, two should be the same gender as the child to be baptised and one should be of the other gender. Godparents must all be Baptised themselves and should also be confirmed. They should also be aged at least 16.

If you wish to discuss details further, please email enquiries@stmichaelsbexhill.org and you will be contacted.

Weddings

St Michael's is a beautiful setting for your wedding - it has a lovely cosy, family feel about it and we would be delighted if you chose to have your special day here.

There are a few important things to consider. Firstly, you may get married in the church in the parish in which one of you is resident. Parish boundaries are sometimes quite difficult to discover, but a really useful website is www.achurchnearyou.com. When you arrive at the site, type in your postcode and it will tell you which parish you are in. If that parish has a link on that site you will be able to click on it to find out more information about a particular church. St Michael's is one church in the parish of St Peter's Bexhill. If you live within this parish, then you may get married at St Michael's, and the next step would be for you to email enquiries@stmichaelsbexhill.org and you will be contacted. You may also qualify to marry at St Michael's if you, your parents or grandparents have worshipped here regularly in the past.

A table of parochial fees can be found on the Church of England website https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/clergy-resources/life-events-parochial-fees-and-guidance.

Pews News 30 March 2025

Thought for the Week 30 March 2025

Parish Magazine April 2025

Activities

St Michael's in the Community

Community Halls

Edna Akam

Large and small community halls are available for hire. One large one with seating for 80 people and a fully equipped industrial kitchen and a small tea/coffee making kitchen. One small hall with seating for 40 people and a large garden area attached with a small tea/coffee making kitchen.

Both halls are ideal for children's parties, informal meetings, social clubs, dance groups, exercise groups. Both have disabled access and facilities.

For all queries and hall bookings, please contact Edna Akam at - smhallbooking@outlook.com.

The following Community Groups use our halls on a regular basis:

East Bexhill Ladies Club
St Michael's Lunch Club
3rd Bexhill Scouts, Beavers, Cubs, Explorers
Line Dancing Monday and Thursday
Slimming World
Pilates
Care for Carers
Toddler Group
Bexhill Seaside Ladies

Christmas Tree Festival

Our first Christmas Tree Festival took place in 2006. Over subsequent years it has grown to become a firm favourite will many local visitors. For the first four years it took place from Wednesday to Monday during the first week of December.

In 2010 the snow came down mid- festival causing us to have to close for 3 days. A decision was made to extend the opening times to the following Friday, word soon got around and we were blessed with a good attendance.

After our first Tree Festival it was decided that on the Friday evening we should open and serve Mulled Wine and Mince Pies. This together with live entertainment was well received. Friday evenings with Mulled Wine and Mince Pies have since featured in every subsequent Tree Festival.

In 2011 and 2012 it was decided to change the opening days to Saturday to Friday, culminating with the evening session of Mulled Wine and Mince Pies and live entertainment.

The Tree Festival has become a major event in our church year - in 2024 we had 25 trees on display and over 700 visitors the theme being Christmas Carols and Songs. The winning tree was a display by the St Michael's Scout Group, The 12 Days of Christmas. Not surprisingly, plans are already well in hand for the opening of the Festival on 4 - 7 December 2025 with the theme to be determined. Watch this space for details.