Yardley
Hastings United Reformed Church, ‘The Chapel’, as it is known
locally, and its members, have over the 324 years of its existence
touched and shaped the lives of thousands of people. The chapel, now
a listed building, hasn’t however remained totally unchanged in its
lifetime. In 1813, following a major fire in the village, the
original chapel was completely destroyed but rebuilt within a year.
In 1990, following the success of The Ginger Groups who were based
there, General Assembly took the decision, with the support of the
local church, to convert the Church, Manse and School Rooms to
create a residential centre as the base for the National Youth
Resource Centre. In this part of its life Yardley Hastings became a
very special place and experience for many of the young people in
our denomination and beyond who visited. Faced with increasing
subsidy costs for the centre and financial constraints across the
denomination, General Assembly took the decision to close the
National Youth Resources Centre at Yardley and it was closed at the
end of 2003. Throughout all of this the local congregation have
continued in their life, witness and service in the community at
Yardley Hastings worshipping in the chapel, which is the spiritual
heart of the centre.
Following
Assembly’s decisions, East Midlands Synod and Northamptonshire
District set up a Task Group, appointing Rachel Poolman as interim
minister and project director, to discern under God’s guidance the
possibilities for both church and centre. In October 2005 the Synod
acted on the task group’s recommendation to take a five year lease
on the building at Yardley Hastings. So the Chapel and centre begin
the next phase of their life as ‘Crossways’.
Terry
Oakley, Moderator of the East Midlands Synod, says,
‘Crossways
is an exciting and visionary project, building on the achievements
of the past, and helping us to move forward into new ways of being
Church. Where people or churches are at crossways in their faith
journey, Derek Hopkins and Crossways will be there, offering a
touching place for faith and mission development.’
now into the future
Crossways is
committed to working ecumenically and with community groups wherever
possible, and is aiming to be financially self sufficient within
five years. This will be achieved by careful use of resources,
minimising permanent staffing costs through a pool of volunteer or
paid staff working on an as needed basis.
Yardley
Hastings is a designated conservation area Its peaceful, rural
setting is one of its main attractions. Crossways offers Christian
welcome and hospitality, flexible indoor and outdoor space, grounds
suitable for quiet reflection or lively games. The centre gives easy
access to a range of activities locally – country walks, craft yard
and stately home in Castle Ashby, bowling in Wellingborough, a white
water rafting centre in Northampton, theatre and indoor ‘snowzone’
in Milton Keynes. At the moment there are two self contained
conference areas, accommodating a maximum of 70 and 20 people
respectively, with plans to create a further area for up to 10
people.
Residential
facilities offer a range of rooms, some en-suite, for a maximum of
44 people.
The chapel is
the physical and spiritual centre of the building. We hope that all
our visitors will find ‘a touching place’ where they have an
opportunity to discover or renew their relationship with Christ.
At Crossways
we are seeking to: Develop the mission of the East Midlands Synod of
the United Reformed Church by providing both residential and day use
facilities and opportunities for:
living faith
Living Faith
seeks to explore new expressions of faith and new ways of
experiencing and sharing our Christian story. We want to address
issues affecting our churches. For instance the busyness of many
people leaves little time for traditional patterns of church life.
How do we connect with them and with people who are searching for a
spiritual dimension in their lives but not necessarily looking to
the church as a natural place to provide it.
On its
simplest level Crossways is a place ‘simply to be’ offering
comfortable accommodation and a welcoming space for individuals to
come and be still, to reflect and to learn individually or in a
group.
The Crossways
programme will include meeting points for people to gather and
listen to each other or to hear speakers that they may not otherwise
encounter. By attracting a variety of people from different
backgrounds we will create an environment of lively exchange, within
which we can move on from dreaming dreams and seeing visions to
creating exciting new realities.
Another
aspect of Living Faith engages with those whose stories are very
different from our own. We want to find out how we can connect with
artists, story tellers and musicians who are not bound by the
negative aspects of ‘tradition’.
Living Faith
aims to provide an environment where many voices can be listened to
– including God’s. Out of this listening will come change and
growth.
small and rural
churches
The needs of
small and rural churches are of particular concern to the East
Midlands Synod where 97 of our 151 churches have a membership of
under 50. Our ecumenical partners face similar issues.
Many small
churches are faced with the need to embrace change. Some need
urgently to engage with new ways of being church, as highlighted in
Catch the Vision. Amongst some of the challenges are:
-
What
constitutes a ‘viable’ church?
-
What sort
of programme and activities is it realistic for a small church
to sustain?
-
How do we
provide ministry in groupings of churches?
-
How do we
enable congregations to take a role in the leadership of
worship?
-
How do we
become more effective in mission?
-
What do
we do with our buildings?
-
What are
the particular challenges and opportunities for ecumenical work
in a rural environment?
-
What does
it mean to relate to the community in a village setting?
Crossways
will provide a focus where these and other issues can be explored.
Leaders can come together to share their joys and challenges. Small
congregations can meet for events that would not otherwise be open
to them. The link between centre and chapel will help to keep its
work grounded in reality. Although promoted by the East Midlands
Synod, Crossways will maintain the Yardley Hastings tradition of
offering a warm welcome to people and congregations from other
synods.
growing community
Growing
Community is the opportunity for individuals and churches to be
active partners in the life of Crossways. Not restricted by
geography, members of the Crossways Growing Community will exchange
ideas, prayers, joys and sorrows through emails, newsletters and
special events at the centre. They will also have the opportunity of
supporting Crossways in prayer, in practical help and by regular
financial support. This mutually supportive network will also help
to stimulate Christian Discipleship in new ways.
enabling local mission
The Enabling
Local Mission programmes will provide a place and resources to
enable local churches to look at and embrace their roles in Mission,
to help them to change from ‘maintenance’ to ‘mission’
congregations.
In addition
to these ‘church centred’ activities we will be encouraging schools
to use the centre for short residential periods and day visits. Many
organisations are already using the centre. We will be making every
effort to broaden this by encouraging others across the community to
take advantage of the excellent facilities we can offer.
Derek
Hopkins, newly appointed Director of Crossways and minister of
Yardley Hastings URC, says ‘I am delighted to have the opportunity
to serve both the church and Crossways. This a very exciting project
and I look forward to being part of its success’.
Derek
Hopkins is the Director of the Crossways project and minister of
Yardley Hastings URC
Contact
Details:
Phone: 01604
696307
email:
contact@crosswayscentre.org.uk
web:
www.crosswayscentre.org.uk
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