An Egremont church is getting ready to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
Egremont Methodist Church, on Main Street, will celebrate the milestone with a special exhibition and refreshments on Saturday 16 May from 10am to 2pm as well as two special services on Sunday 17 May at 11am and 4pm.
The exhibition will include old photos and other memorabilia like programmes, wedding dresses, heirlooms such as christening gowns, stories of Methodist life and memories of events, activities and special occasions from days gone by.
Its special 11am Sunday service will be led by Rev Richard Teal followed by a 4pm service which will welcome the Phoenix Praise band for a lively service of all-age worship and tea.
Both the exhibition and services are free to attend and open to all who are interested.
In 2012, the church was renovated into a multi-purpose community centre named ‘The Meeting Place’ and has since become a key hub in the town.
It has supported a wide range of groups and people, while also welcoming its regular congregation of around 30 people.
The church has provided a place for Scouts, Brownies, Beavers and a Taekwondo club as well as being a warm hub and polling station and a space for activities and craft sessions, music groups, coffee mornings and mental health support sessions. North Lakes Foodbank also operates at the church.
Most of the key users of the church will contribute to the weekend’s celebrations, with groups like the Beavers and Brownies providing hand decorated bunting.
Andy Lennox, 65, of Whitehaven, has been part of the congregation for five years, and said it is very excited to celebrate the church’s rich history.
He said: “I think we’re both excited and proud we’re still going given the fate of many churches in the country.
“The church has its own little archive of photos of past events so we’ve got some of those and I’ve been into the archive office in Whitehaven and we’ve had a lot of help from them, they’re excellent people.
“So I’ve got copies of things like the old cradle rolls from the Sunday school, so when you enrolled you’d write your name and date of birth on the roll.
“We have three of those from the 1920s up to the 1960s and we have old photos, pamphlets and leaflets from events at the church too.
“There was also a fire at the church in 1962 and they had to rebuild part of it and there was a reopening service after and we have the order of service for that.
“A couple of people are lending us wedding dresses from when they got married in the church and I think we also have some photos of when the church was renovated into the multi-use space it is now.”
The church first opened in May 1876 and over the years has become the centre of Methodism in the Egremont area and beyond.
It has also welcomed congregations from three other Methodist chapels in the town as well as from Methodist churches in Thornhill and St Bees on their closure.
The history of these churches and chapels will also be celebrated in the exhibition.
Andy added: “We’ll also have a display for future changes at the church, because we are planning to change our heating system to become a bit more eco-friendly. We are an eco church and a fair trade one too.
“We are in the early stages of fundraising to move from a gas boiler to a heat pump and put solar panels in the church so we can become a bit more self sufficient and low carbon.
“We had our annual church meeting last Sunday and our minister Nick Baker said he was really pleased we were thinking ahead with our eco plans.
“We’re a strong and vibrant church and membership is steady and we’ve had a couple of new members too, so we are looking forward and celebrating what has gone in the past.”
The exhibition will take place on Saturday May 16, from 10am to 2pm, and refreshments including cakes, bacon rolls and jelly and ice cream will be available for a small donation.
The church will host its two special services to celebrate the anniversary on Sunday Mary 17 at 11am and 4pm.
The 11am service will be led by Rev Richard Teal, previously chair of the Cumbria District and past president of the Methodist Conference for the whole UK.
For the 4pm service, Rev Teal will also be joined by the Phoenix Praise group for a lively service of all-age worship.
The exhibition and both Sunday services are open to all.
