Five Buildings One Church

St James Church ‘Complex’

The Church, the Church Room, the St Barnabas Centre and the Emmaus Centre are all located in close proximity in an amazing location at the end of Church Lane, Thorley. We are surrounded by beautiful countryside and have good parking, but are only 5 minutes drive, or a pleasant walk, from Bishop’s Stortford.

^{Thanks to Dimitri and Julia for the great video!

Amazing Grace 2011 Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)}
^{Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License}
^{http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/}

St James church complex

St James the Great Church, the St Barnabas Centre and the Emmaus Centre are all located at the top of Church lane. There is cycle parking (behind the St Barnabas Centre) and two car parks.

The church is where we hold formal services each Sunday. It is also open for personal prayer Monday-Saturday between approximately 9.00am and 4.00pm. Resting in the stillness of St James, one is aware of the presence of God and of the millions of prayers that have been offered here through the ages. To learn about how this historic parish church has developed over nearly 1000 years visit the Friends of St James website

The St Barnabas Centre – usually called “the barn” – is where the informal, contemporary Sunday worship is held at 10.30 am each week. A special website has been created, dedicated to the fascinating history of the barn and its development as a place of worship.

The Emmaus Centre is used for PowerHouse, the children’s groups, on Sundays and in many other ways during the week. It is also available for hire. Contact the Parish Office for details.

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A small building towards the north-west corner of the Churchyard, formerly a school room, which is now often used for church meetings. The Friends of St James, and other members of the Church family, serve refreshments and homemade cakes from the Church Room to walkers and those tending graves during the summer months, normally from May to October. On the wall inside the Church Room there is a schematic plan of the graves in the Churchyard, drawn in 2001 when a working party transcribed all the legible monuments in the Churchyard. These transcriptions, a useful source for genealogists, can be found on the Friends of St James Website

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The Thorley Christian Centre

Thorley Christian Centre

St James the Great Church, the St Barnabas Centre and the Emmaus Centre are all located at the top of Church lane. There is cycle parking (behind the St Barnabas Centre) and two car parks.

The ‘TCC’ is located on the corner of Villiers-Sur-Marne Avenue and Vicerons Place. It is opposite Sainsbury’s petrol station. Mother’s Union winter games and prayer meetings are held here. Contact the Parish Office for hiring details