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Churches - Changes
Resolution 4 - New Churches
General Assembly receives
the churches and mission projects listed below as local churches and
mission projects of the United
Reformed Church.
New Churches
Locking
Castle Christian Partnership, Weston-super-Mare South Western
Locking Castle is a new, growing, estate on the edge of Weston-super-Mare. About five years ago a small group of Christians from various local churches began to meet regularly for Sunday worship in a portacabin on the estate. In January 1998 Locking Castle Christian Partnership, a local ecumenical partnership between Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists and the United Reformed Church was formally inaugurated. The present ministry team consists of a Methodist deacon and an Anglican priest. The church has taken a lead in developing community life in the locality and providing community facilities. Plans are now under way to build a new church on a site in the District Centre of Locking Castle, which will provide both a worship centre and rooms for church and community use.
The
Church of Christ the Servant, Abbey Meads, North Swindon
South Western
The Church of Christ the
Servant, Abbey Meads is establishing itself in the first of three village
centres in the “green field” development in North Swindon. From an
early stage it was decided that the United Reformed Church, the Baptist
Church and the Methodist Church should provide ministry with some Anglican
involvement and that there should be a church presence on the site as
early as possible. A Methodist Deaconess was inducted in September 1996
and a worshipping community has been built up. They are now eagerly
awaiting their church building which will be used not only for worship but
for church-based mission to this newly established and fast growing
community.
Fairford
Leys (Aylesbury) Local Ecumenical Partnership Thames North
This local ecumenical partnership is situated on a new estate development of some 2,000 houses on the edge of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. It involves the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church. Fairford Leys is an unusual development, which has been the subject of national media coverage because of the intention of the site owners, the Ernest Cook Trust, to create a sense of community within a commercial context. Ernest Cook was the grandson of Thomas Cook, of travel company fame. The Trust, which has Christian connections, has donated a site in the village centre, so that the church may be the central focus of the entire project. A building, which combines church and community centre, is to be built by the end of 2001. In the meantime, the Fairford Leys congregation plans to worship in the newly built Church of England school premises. The Trust is refurbishing the original Grade 1 listed Georgian farmhouse as a dwelling for the full-time (Methodist) Minister of the church. It is located near the church, and will have associated conference and office facilities.
Aylesbury, Greenhill, United Reformed Church is providing the bulk of the funding for the church building, as well as the first (part-time) Minister. It is moving from its present site to become the core ecumenical congregation. It is planned to formally close the Greenhill congregation after all outstanding matters relating to assets and property have been resolved.
Slough
United Reformed Asian Christian Church Thames North
The Urdu speaking Asian
Christian fellowship first made application to join the United Reformed
Church in April 1998 following a recommendation by the Presbyterian Church
of the USA. Since then, following negotiations with the United Reformed
Church nationally, with the Thames North Synod and Chiltern District
Council, and with local United Reformed Church congregations in Slough, it
is now felt appropriate for this congregation to become part of the wider
church family and join the United Reformed Church.
The congregation consists of about forty Asian families, mainly of Pakistani background and Presbyterian tradition, and is gathered from a relatively wide area around Slough. Apart from Sunday afternoon worship, the church is committed to a programme of work amongst children, to offering pastoral care to its members and to mission within the local Asian community.
New Mission Project
Holy
Island Project Northern
St Cuthbert’s Holy Island
Project is guided by a mission statement which draws on features in the
life and ministry of the 13th century saint - hospitality; teaching;
solitude; reconciliation and renewal of worship; and it has developed a
distinctive pattern of ministry, and varied and innovative worship.
The refurbished building,
itself a witness to the possibility of careful and sensitive change,
enables an open door ministry of welcome and gentle evangelism to the half
million visitors to the Island each year.
Through a programme of
events for a variety of ages and interests, and in comfortable and
well-equipped facilities the Project has been able to meet specific needs
of groups and individuals.
Worship at 8pm on Saturday
evenings has evolved into a relaxed and accessible pattern which is
welcomed by residents and visitors alike, and has become in itself a quiet
catalyst for ecumenism.
The Project is run by a
Director, volunteer helpers and a management group who are accountable to
the URC Northumberland District Council.
From its inception in 1994 the Project has in vision, style and effect operated as a ‘mission project’ within the URC and we look forward eagerly, if belatedly, to its recognition as such.
Resolution 5
Closure of Local Churches
General Assembly receives
notice of the closure of the local churches listed below and gives thanks
to God for their worship, witness, and service throughout their history.
Closure of Local Churches
Norham
Northern
Norham URC was the first
congregation in England of the ‘Secession Church’, from 1737 part of a
group of five in the Borders area; the first minister, the Revd John
Hunter, was the first to be ordained by that denomination. In 1752, Norham
church was formed in its own right. A chapel was built in 1753 (enlarged a
century later); the Revd James Morrison, ordained in 1756, remained for 58
years. A Sunday school was formed, over 25 years before the Robert Ralkes
school in Gloucester, traditionally England’s first Sunday School. The
formation of the Presbyterian Church of England led to union with another
Presbyterian church in the village early in the twentieth century. In
bygone years worshippers came from farms in the area which employed many
workers with often large families in tied houses: depopulation has
contributed quite as much to the reduced numbers as any national trend.
The church last had its own minister in 1971, since when it has been in
several different joint pastorates. In 1997 the chapel was sold and the
hall used for worship. The members have struggled gallantly with
increasing difficulty up to 2000. The final act of worship took place on 9
April 2000.
Trinity,
Bishop Auckland Northern
The congregation was
founded in the 1860’s in response to the needs of Scottish people moving
into the area. Within a few years the building was opened, ministry
secured, and the church began to play a full part in the Christian life of
this small town.
In the 1960’s the
building was radically adapted, providing for an upstairs hall and
facilities that had long been lacking. However, these changes could not
stem the slow decline, and the shortcomings of the building and its
position in the town prevented any hopes of developing partnerships with
community groups. At one point the members considered a new beginning on a
new estate, or involvement in an ecumenical partnership, but again there
was no encouraging signs.
Recognising that there were
no other options, the twenty or so remaining members sadly took the
decision to close at the end of 1999. A service of thanksgiving for the
church’s 140 years of Christian witness and service was held on 9
January 2000, led by the Synod Moderator. There is much to celebrate; but
there is sadness too at the withdrawal of the United Reformed Church from
yet another small community.
Brierfield
North Western
The history of this church
goes back to 1878. Since the 1939/45 war, however, it has never had more
than 40 members. In 1991 the church took a bold step, leasing its site to
the local authority who demolished the building and erected a community
centre, giving the church access for certain purposes on a peppercorn
rent. The small congregation has enjoyed a very rich sense of fellowship
and has in many ways been the spiritual “power house” of the group of
three churches to which it has belonged. Aging, however, and seeing no
ecumenical growth in recent years another bold step has been taken to
close, the members mostly joining Nelson Church. The Brierfield Community
Centre will for ever carry the name of the United Reformed Church in its
stone-work - testimony to faithful witness over many decades.
St.
Paul’s & Trinity, Bootle Mersey
St Paul’s and Trinity was
the eventual product of two Presbyterian Churches - United Presbyterian
Church, Bootle (1853), and St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Bootle (1883).
Bootle then was a
prosperous seaside resort, where wealthy Liverpool merchants and
professional men were building their mansions and large houses. The
extension northwards of docks for the Port of Liverpool brought much
industrial and population growth to Bootle and the wealthy moved further
north along the coast to Blundellsands and Crosby.
Over the ensuing years the
two churches had their peaks and troughs and two world wars took their
toll. St Paul’s was destroyed in 1941 and Trinity was unfit for use
following bomb damage in 1940. A war time union was agreed, using Trinity
School Rooms as premises. In 1951 this union was made permanent. In 1964
the congregation was enlarged by members from Emmanuel Congregational
Church, who lost their premises in a fire, and in 1968 by members from
Breeze Hill Presbyterian Church of Wales, whose church was demolished. In
1972 St Paul’s and Trinity Presbyterian Church became St Paul’s and
Trinity United Reformed Church.
By 1981 there was an ageing
congregation, with many fabric and financial problems, but with great
spirit. The way forward was to demolish the church and hall and sell the
land to a Housing Trust. The caretaker’s house was converted to a church
seating 50 people, and also ancillary rooms. A small devoted congregation,
strong in spirit, continued to worship under the care of various Interim
Moderators, until in 1997, St Paul’s came into a joint pastorate with
Crosby United Reformed Church. Due to declining numbers, it was with real.
regret and sadness that the decision was made to close, with the final
service on Easter Sunday, 2000.
Union
Street URC, Wallasey Mersey
Formerly Union Street
Presbyterian Mission, mother church Egremont Presbyterian Church of
England (now Manor Church Centre). In 1975 Union Street became Union
Street United Reformed Church.
Union Street
started in a
small upper room in Union Street on 9 October 1986, by James Smith, being
subsequently transferred to the present premises which were, for some
time, used as a day school. After a few years service by Miss Longmore, Mr
Russell was appointed Superintendent in 1876 and continued the work until
ill-health compelled his retirement in 1905. Superintendent Missionaries
since 1905 included Miss Craig (12 years’ service), Mr Much (14 years’
service), Mr Arnold (3 years’ service), Mr Faucet (1 years’ service),
Mr Murphy (25 years’ service), Mr J Hewitt (14 years as Lay Pastor, 4
years as Ordained Minister) Mr Pierpoint (6 years as Lay Pastor) and Revd
M Poole (10 years as Minister). The closing service was held on 5
September 1999.
Lane
URC, Holmfirth Yorkshire
Lane URC Holmfirth closed
on 30 November 1999 because the building was structurally dangerous. There
has been Christian worship on that site since the 1780’s and Synod on
4th March 2000 marked the closure with regret, giving thanks for Christian
witness there and offered best wishes to the dispersed membership.
Hognaston
East Midlands
There had been a dissenting
fellowship in the village of Hognaston from as far back as 1671 and
records exist of this fellowship meeting in a barn on the outskirts of the
village. The present congregation’s life began in 1878, when people from
the village of Hognaston met together in their homes. They began to build
a church in 1881 and the building was dedicated in August 1882. The
adjoining Sunday School premises were dedicated in December 1930. The
church, like many of the village congregational churches in Derbyshire,
became part of the United Reformed Church in 1972.
The church and its
congregation have offered a significant contribution to the life of the
village and this was true right to the end of the church’s life, and, in
many ways, will continue with the involvement of the members who continue
to live in the village. The village of Hognaston is referred to by some
locally as “Little Bethlehem” due to the fact that in the 19th century
and early part of the 20th century there were a number of family bakery
businesses that served that area of West Derbyshire. By the late Summer of
1999 the congregation decided that to keep a church open was too much for
them and, therefore, they reluctantly took the decision to close. There
were two services which marked the closure of the church, one the
Christmas Carol Service of all the churches of the West Derbyshire Group,
and finally the five members of the congregation met on Christmas Eve to
celebrate Holy Communion and to give thanks for the life and witness of
that congregation. All the members of the congregation have committed
themselves to be part of other fellowships in the local area.
Alfreton
East Midlands
The presence of a
Non-conformist worshipping community in Alfreton dates back to the 17th
century. It was for nearly a hundred and fifty years until 1997 housed
in Church Street and called after Wycliffe. It was a centre of community
activity in Alfreton until the early 1980’s by which time it was a part
of the United Reformed Church.
Over the years the Church
fostered many groups, as well as a thriving Sunday School it had a Boys
Brigade, Men’s and Women’s Fellowships and was home to the local
History Society.
Declining membership and
the increasing repair costs however eventually forced the membership to
move to other premises in 1997 as a temporary measure and put the Church
in the Province’s care.
In early 1999 after much
heart searching the membership took the decision that the Church should
close. A final celebratory Service was held on Sunday the 16th of May
1999.
Adsborough
South Western
Adsborough is a small
village in a farming community. The church was founded in 1868 by a group
of concerned Christians in the Taunton area and has served the village
faithfully for many years. At the end of 1999 the church had just three
members. Two of those members will be moving away from the village shortly
and so at a church meeting on 24 January 2000 it was decided that the
church should close, the final service having been held on 12 December
1999. The remaining member is to be transferred to North Petherton United
Reformed Church.
Debden
Thames
North
Debden was developed as a
London over-spill estate after the Second World War. In 1950 some members
of the Loughton Union Church started holding worship and Sunday School on
the estate. In 1952 the present building was erected and a Congregational
church formed. Support in the early years came very largely from Loughton
Union Church, with one of its members personally paying the stipend of a
minister for the first six months.
A lot of useful work has
been done, especially with children and young people. There have often
been times when there were more children than adults in the congregation.
For some time there was a strong Girls’ Brigade, and youth work has been
maintained until quite recently.
The church has struggled
with the usual problems of a residential estate where the habit of
church-going is not strongly ingrained in the people, where there are many
personal and family problems, and workers are hard to find and keep. Right
up to the present time, some valuable pastoral and evangelistic work has
been done with individuals, but the burden of maintaining the large
premises and reaching out to the community was proving too much for the
few hard workers in the church.
In the summer of 1999 most
of the key workers in the church, for various reasons, felt they could
continue no longer. After a number of meetings, and some conversations
with the Methodists about possible co-operation, the members regretfully
concluded that it would be best to close the church as from the end of
April 2000. It is their fervent hope that it will be possible for
Christian witness and mission to be maintained in the building by other
agencies.
Slough,
Mustard Seed Church Thames North
The Mustard Seed Church in
Slough was formed in 1989 as the most visible expression of a newly
created LEP within the town. It was effectively a church plant in the
Windsor Meadows estate, and was sponsored mainly by the Church of England
and the United Reformed Church. Two semi-detached houses were jointly
purchased by the sponsoring bodies, of which one served as a manse, while
the other was used for small midweek gatherings. The first minister in
pastoral charge was an ordained deacon (CE), the Revd Pat Thomas, under
whose ministry the number of worshippers gradually rose to around forty.
This necessitated Sunday services being held in a nearby rented hall.
After a short vacancy in
1995, the Revd Elaine Dunn (URC) was inducted as the new minister.
Unfortunately, by the time she took over numbers had already begun to
fall, partly because many of the homes in the area are ‘starter homes’
which tend to create considerable mobility, and partly because of
personality issues. Nevertheless Elaine rose to the challenge, managing to
turn an inherited debt into a small surplus. With financial help from both
the Anglican diocese and the other URC congregations in Slough funds were
raised to enable the intervening wall between the two houses to be knocked
down, thus creating a room large enough for Sunday worship. However the
downward trend continued and, when Elaine left at the end of her initial
contract in October 1998, only a very few people were regularly involved.
At this point the Anglicans
made it clear that they were unable to provide further ministry, except
through the services of the local parish clergy, and for the next few
months they tried to maintain worship as before. Numbers never rose above
four, all of whom were Anglican, and ultimately it was felt that they
ought to be encouraged to join in with the parish church. At the same time
the Joint Council (3 CE; 3 URC) had come to the conclusion that, as the
Mustard Seed church had all but effectively ceased to exist, the
respective denominational bodies should be asked to concur with its
recommendation to formally close the church. Chiltern District Council
duly gave such concurrence “with regret” at its meeting in November
1999, while Thames North Synod gave its approval in March 2000.
The Joint Council will
continue to meet regularly and handle the affairs of the Mustard Seed
church until such time as the properties have been sold and the funds
dealt with in accordance with the terms of the original sharing agreement.
Ingress Vale Southern
Ingress Vale church was built in a North Kent industrial village between 1860 and 1862 as a preaching station of Greenhithe Congregational Church. A major contributor to the cost of £1,367 was the owner of the local cement factory. In 1870 the Revd George Shrewsbury, a former missionary in India, arrived and for the next 31 years laboured to make the church the focal point for all local activity. The young men’s Bible Class was largely responsible for building the Manse next door in 1902.
Throughout the twentieth century interest in the world Church remained a strong theme. The church collected for the John Williams ships and many visitors from the London Missionary Society took services. During World War 11 a German prisoner-of- war camp was established in nearby Swanscombe and several of the prisoners worshipped at Ingress Vale each Sunday. Contact was maintained with them after the War.
The last stipendiary minister left in 1943 and from 1954 the church was grouped with other churches in the Dartford area. Miss Edith Dudney provided continuity as Church Secretary for 64 years until her death in 1998. However in recent years numbers declined while the average age rose.
In 1996 an initiative by Medway District, led by a Lay Preacher, Pamela Tolhurst, attracted some new worshippers and brought new activity. Children’s work was revived for the benefit of the estate that had grown up around the church building. In 1999, however, the premises were declared unsafe. The work was moved into a nearby pub but the local response was not sustained. The last remaining member agreed the church must close and the Synod Moderator preached at a Service of Thanksgiving for the church’s life held in Dartford on 25 September 1999.
Carmel,
Bonvilston Wales
Carmel was founded as a
Welsh-speaking chapel in 1834 by the Eglwys yr Annibynwyr. In 1924 it came
into the Congregational Church of England and Wales and in 1972 the United
Reformed Church. Its ministry was set amongst the farming communities of
the Vale of Glamorgan. Ministry and leadership through its life was
provided mainly by one of the chapel families, the Evans family. William
Edgar Evans was minister 1880-1930. Tridydd Evans was Secretary 1930-1971,
and David Evans 1971-2000. The changing population in the countryside
meant that in recent years the chapel ministered to itself and though it
shared fellowship with other churches in the Vale the declining
congregation questioned the future. Ministry and leadership was provided
for many years by the Revd Mary Evans up until her death in 1997. After
Mary’s death the congregation looked at the future and felt that the
time had come to close and the members disperse amongst the other
congregations in the Vale.
Hodley,
Montgomeryshire Wales
On Sunday 23rd January 2000
Hodley United Reformed Church held a final service to conclude
160 years of worship in a small rural community. Hodley was opened in 1840
at the height of the building of small Congregational churches in rural
areas to meet the needs of small communities. It has provided a meeting
point and focal point for worship and events for the families in the
valley between Kerry and Abermule in Montgomeryshire. As in most of these
small communities the declining need of farm workers and the leaving to
find work in other locations has over the years taken its toll. The Church
has always been linked with the URC in Newtown and in 1988 became part of
the Maldwyn Group. The decline left only 5 members to carry on the work
and in October 1999 following the death of one member it was felt with
deep regret that the time had come to close the door. We remember the
tireless effort of those over the years who witnessed to faith and to
those who continue to do so in other fellowships.
Lanteg,
Pembrokeshire Wales
It was in 1814 that a local
farmer gave the Bevlen field as a site for a new Independent chapel to be
built in the Parish. People came from surrounding areas to worship in the
small community. The original building was an Upper Room with stabling
beneath for horses. In 1889 a new chapel was built through voluntary
labour. Lanteg is now a very small village with many holiday homes and the
chapel has consequently experienced a decline in attendance. We give
thanks for the witness during many years in this community and for the
commitment of a few families in sharing the Gospel.
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