Safeguarding

Promoting a Safer Church

We take extremely seriously our responsibility to provide a safe and caring environment for all children and adults who visit the Church, whether joining us for one event, or coming along regularly.

We ensure that any adults working with children and vulnerable adults have a current DBS check in place, and are provided with sufficient training.

We handle any information regarding safeguarding concerns on a strict 'need to know' basis.

Any safeguarding concerns should be reported in the first instance to our Safeguarding Co-ordinator, Doff Davey - either in person or by email, at: safeguarding@hbefc.org.uk

If the matter involves the Safeguarding Co-ordinator, please speak to the Safeguarding Elder, John Beale in person, who will proceed in accordance with our Safeguarding Policy, Appendix 11.

If the matter is urgent, please contact Kent County Council social services. Their current contact details are below:

During the day and in office hours:
Concerned about an adult? To tell us about an adult safeguarding concern, either:
call 03000 41 61 61 (text relay 18001 03000 41 61 61)
email social.services@kent.gov.uk.

Concerned about a child?
Call 03000 41 11 11 (text relay 18001 03000 41 11 11)
email social.services@kent.gov.uk

Out of hours and in an emergency:
If you need to contact us outside of normal office hours, for example during the night, call 03000 41 91 91.

If you think someone is in immediate danger, the best thing to do is call 999 for the emergency services.

A copy of the full HBEFC Safeguarding policy with appendices is available here.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

Thinking of coming along?

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect at a Sunday service.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Services starting at 10:30am and 6pm. There is free parking on the church site, and the streets around are permit-free. For your first visit, we recommend arriving a few minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will give you a service sheet or hymn book and a Bible.

Please note there is no dress code - please come as you are!

Services are free to attend, and we don't pass around an offering bag or plate during the service.

We serve tea, coffee, squash and biscuits after the service most weeks, which is a great opportunity to meet people, if you'd like to. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is ramp access to the church, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. There are ambulant accessible toilets in the main foyer, and wheelchair accessible toilets in the rear area of the church.

Our Services

Our services begin with a welcome from one of our church leaders. They will share some church news and notices about what's going on in the life of HBEFC. We are then led through activities which help us do three main things:

listen to God - we hear parts of the Bible read aloud for us, and we hear a sermon - a talk which explains what a Bible passage means and how God wants it to affect our lives;
respond to God - we pray (mostly one person will pray from the front, but sometimes we might say a prayer together, such as the Lord's Prayer); and we sing together, a mixture of traditional and modern hymns and songs. If singing in this way is new to you and you prefer to remain seated and listen, that's OK!
encourage each other - everything in the service is designed to help us in our faith, and that continues as we chat after the service, with refreshments most weeks.

HBEFC LRes-7

What about my kids?

We enjoy welcoming people of all ages to our services, and we stay together for the first 15 minutes or so. After this, children from Reception - Year 8 are invited to go to Sunday Club. The service leader will make it clear when this starts. The activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, Bible stories, prayer, singing and craft. Of course, if you prefer that your child stays with you for the whole service, they are very welcome to do so!

Young people (school Year 9+) stay in the service.

We also have a Creche Room available throughout the whole service, for children up to Reception age. This room has toys and books, and a speaker relay so that you can hear what is happening in the main service. We're not currently able to offer a full 'creche' facility, so parents and carers are asked to supervise their own children.

HBEFC LRes-4

Getting Connected

Questions?

If you'd like to ask any questions before you visit, or even come and visit the church beforehand, please do get in touch, at office@hbefc.org.uk or 07935471286, or using the form below:

Get in touch with us

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.