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Services
We meet for worship each week on Sundays at 10.30 am at Edmund Kell Unitarian Church, Belle Vue Road, near to the corner of London Road, Southampton. Members attend the Church from a wide area.
Services are often of an eclectic nature and draw wisdom from pesonal philosophy based on the experience of life of those conducting the service. They may reflect one religious pathway, many or none. Both the minister and members conduct the services in a spirit of constructive tolerence and openness towards each other's sincerely held beliefs.
We meet in the hall after every service for a fellowship hour when coffee and tea are served. On some occasions we hold Church Lunches.
The building, completed in 1990, is equipped for use by those who are disabled.
The congregation
The congregation comes together to meet a variety of spiritual needs. Some of the members are liberal christians and some are humanists, yet, despite the diversity of view, all come together to share in services in an atmosphere of freedom and tolerence.
It is the Unitarian experience that common values, found in a bond of unity, speak for more than narrow creed or binding dogma.
Junior Church
A Junior Church, designed to run in parallel with the Sunday service, was launched in early 2000.
We have a set of planned activities and materials immediately available which could be quickly tailored the needs of young people who arrive. We have trained and vetted junior church leaders and a structure in place which conforms to all the requirements of our General Assembly code of Practice.
Whilst families with children are not regular attenders at present, they are always very welcome.
Other activities
In addition to services the congregation comes together, formally and informally on other occasions during the year:
to organise sales and coffee mornings.
to organise partys and celebrations in the hall.
to welcome fellow Unitarians of the Southern Unitarian Association.
to visit other congregations in the District - each summer we take a ferry to the Isle of Wight to share a service with the congregation in Newport.
to hold discussions of current interest and personal belief.
Publications
The minister keeps contact with those members who are on the Internet by email.
Whilst the minister produces a monthly Bulletin of events mixed with pastoral comment, a member of the congregation produces "The Interchange", four times a year. This is a substantial magazine of articles written by our own members and sometimes invited guests.
Other use of the Church
The Church premises are used for a number of varied community-based activities. These include everything from a meeting of local gardeners, weekly weight watching, WRVS and aerobics sessions to training sessions for Probation Officers, Rotary Club committee meetings, voluntary groups' AGMs etc.
The South Hampshire Branch of the Council of Christians and Jews meets in the building.
We offer the use of the chapel for choirs, small concerts, occasional meetings and private group meditations. There are some catering facilities for groups using the hall. We have a small Quiet Room available for meetings of less than ten people.
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