Nantwich Methodist Church Centre Opens January 2009.

A £1.2 million new building scheme developed over the past nine years by Nantwich Methodist Church at its Hospital Street site opened to its congregation for Sunday morning worship on Sunday 4th January. The congregation started in the 200 year old chapel and moved during the service across the road to complete the service in the new building, led in procession by its Minister, Rev. Bryan Tolhurst, the young people and choir. The 100 year old Methodist Schoolroom building has undergone a major refurbishment in the past nine months by JS Seddon (Builders) with the aid of grants from the Landfill Communities Funds of Waste Recycling Group (administered by WREN), the Joseph Rank Trust and the Beatrix Laing Family Trust, but the majority of the funding has come from the sale of the Welsh Row and Hospital Street chapels (£658,000) and money raised over many years by the church congregation (£284,000). A "Building Group" consisting of appropriately experienced members of the congregation has planned the scheme and overseen the development and acquisition of the resources needed.

The new church centre will accommodate many weekday and weeknight activities of both church and community groups in facilities appropriate to the 21st century. Existing activities for children and young people will be enhanced, the "Tots Stop" weekly meeting for toddlers and their parents will re-open, some meetings held in other locations including those loaned by sister churches in Nantwich will resume in the new premises. The Thursday and Saturday coffee mornings open to all will re-open in a new coffee lounge supported by a modern kitchen and those attending these will have the opportunity to see all the new facilities in the building. Even the 5" gauge steam railway which has appeared weekly in the church car park to attract children to the Saturday morning club now has a permanent site alongside the new building!

The Church Centre was formally dedicated during the Opening Celebration at 3pm on Saturday 17th January by its Minister, the Rev. Bryan Tolhurst, and the sermon was given by the Chairman of the Methodist Chester Stoke District, the Rev. Peter Barber, taking his text from the First Book of Chronicles chapter 29 - "The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God." The opening was attended by the Mayor of Crewe and Nantwich, Brian Sylvester and Mayoress Ms Sheila Davies, the Chairman of the Nantwich Town Council, Keith Cafferty and Mrs Barbara Cafferty, past ministers of the church, representatives of all the Nantwich churches and other Methodist churches in the Circuit, representatives from community groups using the church facilities, including the Ashley Music School's Chang Trio who played during the service, and the regular members of the local congregation.

The new building has attracted a lot of interest in the town and much curiosity from passers-by, many of whom stop and ask to see the church and its facilities. The Minister, Bryan Tolhurst, said: "As we have been working in this new church centre over the last few weeks passersby have noticed the activity. They have noticed that a building that once seemed to be dark and lifeless is now bright and alive. They can see things happening inside. They want to come in and have a closer look. We love showing them around. The light now shines out of the clear glass windows brightening the darkness of the world outside. That is what we are about. We want to show Christ to others in all that we do and in all that we are. We must use every opportunity that we have to share some of the light of Christ that is within us, and within our building, with those who are walking past in the darkness outside."