what makes churches take out pews and put in chairs?
One of the smaller pews at Stockland Green had been removed to accommodate some of the worshippers who use a wheelchair but there were sometimes 3 wheelchair users needing that space and no-one wanted to go and sit at the front by themselves nor be stuck at the back away from the action.
What brought the matter to a head was when an older member of the congregation could not sit in comfort in the pew and had to bring a cushion to church, then a backseat rest and then…. others said how uncomfortable the pews were. Could we not have a chair or two? It was raised at the annual church meeting in March 2007.
Two years later we had gone on coach trips, minibuses and car loads to over 11 different churches to see what they had done with their church worship area to make it more comfortable and accessible to all – those who needed to use a wheelchair as well as children in buggies or people who needed the triangle frame for steadiness.
The results were startling – we were talking about storage spaces, boilers that worked 24/7, good kitchens and serving hatches, comfy chairs, glass doors so people outside could look all the way in and see the cross at the front in the stained glass and realise we were worshipping God; and could we have some nice toilets?; and how could we best use the back field , maybe sell it for sheltered housing for young adults with learning disabilities or turn it into a car park for ourselves – my goodness – we had fun, brimming over with ideas!
The annual church meeting agreed that a small working group of 10 could appoint an architect and look into possibilities, a real feasibility study – and report back – but the possibilities were amazing, terrifying, exciting, out of our reach and yet …………..
After three years of talking together, listening and looking around, praying hard, visiting places, enquiring of other organizations, reading endless census material, conducting interviews galore with community workers and stakeholders to find out what was missing from this area, holding bible studies, cream teas and video afternoons showing what others had achieved, going on church prayer walks round our extensive premises, at last – we made a decision to go for it and commit to renewing the whole church under God’s guidance and in His power. We were inspired by one member of the Working Party who had a vision that this renewed church building could be a “beacon of light for the whole community”- it would shine out in the darkness with the glass doors being lit from within and the cross, the bible and a pedestal of lovely flowers would be seen day and night. And local people would know God’s love is for all people!
What brought the matter to a head was when an older member of the congregation could not sit in comfort in the pew and had to bring a cushion to church, then a backseat rest and then…. others said how uncomfortable the pews were. Could we not have a chair or two? It was raised at the annual church meeting in March 2007.
Two years later we had gone on coach trips, minibuses and car loads to over 11 different churches to see what they had done with their church worship area to make it more comfortable and accessible to all – those who needed to use a wheelchair as well as children in buggies or people who needed the triangle frame for steadiness.
The results were startling – we were talking about storage spaces, boilers that worked 24/7, good kitchens and serving hatches, comfy chairs, glass doors so people outside could look all the way in and see the cross at the front in the stained glass and realise we were worshipping God; and could we have some nice toilets?; and how could we best use the back field , maybe sell it for sheltered housing for young adults with learning disabilities or turn it into a car park for ourselves – my goodness – we had fun, brimming over with ideas!
The annual church meeting agreed that a small working group of 10 could appoint an architect and look into possibilities, a real feasibility study – and report back – but the possibilities were amazing, terrifying, exciting, out of our reach and yet …………..
After three years of talking together, listening and looking around, praying hard, visiting places, enquiring of other organizations, reading endless census material, conducting interviews galore with community workers and stakeholders to find out what was missing from this area, holding bible studies, cream teas and video afternoons showing what others had achieved, going on church prayer walks round our extensive premises, at last – we made a decision to go for it and commit to renewing the whole church under God’s guidance and in His power. We were inspired by one member of the Working Party who had a vision that this renewed church building could be a “beacon of light for the whole community”- it would shine out in the darkness with the glass doors being lit from within and the cross, the bible and a pedestal of lovely flowers would be seen day and night. And local people would know God’s love is for all people!
On January 4th 2010, The Monday Team, as they became known, started on the pews (cutting them up and making them into garden benches, bookcases and chairs) and the ladies who had never even heard of wire wool started on the oak paneling! It was a voyage of discovery as we found ourselves wielding hammers, chainsaws, sandpaper galore and French polish; the Sunday congregation sat on decreasing numbers of pews and increasing numbers of blue plastic chairs; there was always sawdust in the air and wet sheets trying to trap it; we had lunch every Monday together, gangs of us, enjoying the shared sweat and effort, great fellowship, meeting people we had only glimpsed on a Sunday, sharing laughter and good food.
There was some purposeful activity in the filling in of endless grant application forms, a lot of prayer for discernment and much trusting in God to provide but we set our hand to the plough, raised money every way we could, had coffee mornings in each other’s homes and invited the neighbours, held huge fundraisers, talked about the Project to anyone who would listen and asked for their prayers and a donation, and went forward in faith.
And to our everlasting joy, the worship area and transformed church was opened to the glory of God in June 2010, when all previous ministers were invited to return and bless the place. Two past Presidents of the Methodist Conference came too and the packed congregation raised the roof singing, the longest-married couple did the honours and cut a magnificent cake, the youngest children led the procession and there were tears from many people present (some of whom had doubted they would ever live to see the day!)
There was some purposeful activity in the filling in of endless grant application forms, a lot of prayer for discernment and much trusting in God to provide but we set our hand to the plough, raised money every way we could, had coffee mornings in each other’s homes and invited the neighbours, held huge fundraisers, talked about the Project to anyone who would listen and asked for their prayers and a donation, and went forward in faith.
And to our everlasting joy, the worship area and transformed church was opened to the glory of God in June 2010, when all previous ministers were invited to return and bless the place. Two past Presidents of the Methodist Conference came too and the packed congregation raised the roof singing, the longest-married couple did the honours and cut a magnificent cake, the youngest children led the procession and there were tears from many people present (some of whom had doubted they would ever live to see the day!)
All sorts of details in the renewed church caught people’s eyes – from the renovated stained glass window which rippled with light, reminding us of the saints triumphant who travel with us, to the rich red carpet where the church had once been blue; from the wide comfy red chairs to the mellow yellow organ pipes, glowing wooden floor and then the startlingly beautiful nine foot glass doors; from the hand-carved communion table created from the old oak choir pews to the exquisite new baptismal font shaped like angel wings or praying hands, holding aloft a crystal swirling glass bowl for the waters of baptism; from the glass panels of the old draught-screen now mounted on the wall to the newly-embroidered pulpit fall. What an adventure this was turning out to be but there was more to come………