Church Life

Members of St Mary's Church are currently involved in the following activities.

Sunday Group

The children's Sunday Group meets in St Mary's House, Shoreham-by-Sea on most Sundays of the year (except Family Services and some school holidays) during the 11.00 am Eucharist. The Group is run by Emma Ham-Riche, a qualified teacher, with the help and support of other parents. Between 8 and 15 children join in the Group on a Sunday morning, aged between 2–8 years old. Due to the large number of pre-school children, many children are accompanied by their parents.

Since September 2008, the Sunday Group has been using 'Searchlights',
an all-age resource for Common Worship, which provides the children with activities that are closely linked to the Lectionary readings. The Group is establishing links with Irene Smale, the Children's Officer for Chichester Diocese.

Further information:

If you have children who may be interested in joining, please contact
Emma Ham-Riche
Telephone: 01273 452586
E-mail:

Youth Zone

Our thriving youth group, Youth Zone, meets on the second Saturday of the month in the hall at St Nicolas and St Mary Primary School in Eastern Avenue, Shoreham-by-Sea (term time only). Meeting at the school means we are not longer restricted to activities within the confines of the hall and are able to offer games outside on the large open playing field.

We welcome all children in Year 5 and above. The cost is £1 per session and there is tuck/fruit available to buy; drinks/fruit juice are provided free.

Members take part in a variety of activities, which during this last year have included table tennis, craft, dodge ball, 'It's-a-Knock-Out' games, unihoc, bench ball, sweet making, and the 'Pizza and Tinsel' end of term party.

Trips are also arranged on a regular basis. In addition to club evenings, we have been 'raft-building' on the Adur in April, had a 'barbeque and rounders' night, and completed our sponsored cycle ride to Bramber followed by a picnic in May, a trip to the lifeboat station, and ten-pin bowling in Worthing.

At the start of the new term we welcomed all our new members and looked forward to our first trip, Go-Karting, in October which proved to be very popular. We sold home made cakes after the service in St Nicolas' Church on 2nd November and St Mary's on the 16th in aid of our fundraising efforts for the Lifeboat Station Appeal. Our fundraising got off to a flying start with the cycle ride. We were very pleased to be able to present the Shoreham Lifeboat Station Appeal with a cheque for £1077.35 at our meeting in March.

We have more exciting club nights and trips and events lined up for 2009/10. Come along to meet us and join in the fun. We look forward to seeing you at Youth Zone.

Further information:

If you have children who may be interested in joining, please contact
Cliff Emberlin, Youth Zone Co-ordinator
Telephone: 01273 465645

St Nicolas and St Mary Primary School

This popular and well-respected School is situated in Eastern Avenue, Shoreham-by-Sea. It is a Church of England Voluntary Aided School, maintained by the Diocese of Chichester and West Sussex County Council, and sponsored jointly by the churches of St Mary de Haura, New Shoreham and St Nicolas, Old Shoreham.

The Vicar and several members of both churches serve as Foundation Governors, and the Admissions Policy gives priority to the children of regular worshippers. The clergy conduct School Eucharists and Assemblies at the school, and School Services also take place on occasion in St Mary's Church. It is the aim of the Governors, Headteacher and Staff that the school's Christian foundation should be evident in every area of school life, as expressed in its mission statement: 'Journey together – Guided by God – To do the best we can'.

Further information:

Please contact David Etherton, Headteacher
Telephone: 01273 454470
E-mail: