Our Journey

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We are a group of ordinary people, who believe in an extraordinary God, who trace our journey together from humble beginnings in 1884 to the present day. There have been a number of meeting places, lots of different people and plenty of ups and downs through the years

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In the Beginning

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Our Church held its first service in “The Oddfellows Hall” in Caroline Street, Seaham Harbour on Sunday 6th March 1884 when William Branfoot of Sunderland preached the opening sermons.  The Church began in order to meet a need for families moving into that part of Seaham which was growing due to the docks where coal was shipped from the pits at New Seaham and bottles from the nearby bottleworks.

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The first thirty years

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The services continued in “The Oddfellows Hall” on a Sunday with other meetings being held in the homes of members. Unfortunately, in 1911 the Church was asked to leave “The Oddfellows Hall” because the owners required it for their own use.  The Church continued to meet in members’ homes until in 1912 a Dr. French offered the use of an upstairs room in a tenement in John Street which became known as the “upper room”.

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The next fifty years

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In 1914 the Oddfellows offered to sell to the Church the hall in which they had first met, they even advanced the money to make the purchase possible.  Thus on 13th June 1914 the Church held an opening service in their own premises, the same place in which they had first met thirty years earlier.

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From 1914 to 1968 the Church continued to meet in Caroline Street, adding mid-week meetings.   It took many years to repay the mortgage but once it had been repaid in the 1950’s the premises were improved with a kitchen, toilet, alterations to the vestry and the installation of a pipe organ.

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Bertie and Jane Malcolm, a Minister and his organist wife, from Shildon joined the struggling Church in the early 1930’s becoming stalwarts for many years.

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The end of an era

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In 1965 the Church was informed that their building was in a redevelopment area.  Many people had moved from the surrounding homes due to slum clearance so attendance had dwindled.  The decision had to be taken either to close or to relocate.   The Council offered to provide a replacement building if the Church would relocate to Stanley Street and so with a great step of faith the Church continued.

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A move and a new beginning

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The church building in Stanley Street was completed just hours before the opening service took place on 13th January 1968. The move to Stanley Street saw a period of unprecedented growth, in one year membership doubled and the Sunday School flourished so the Church went into debt once again, this time to build a Sunday School Hall which was opened in 1974.

Since then the premises have seen further improvements with replacement boilers, a refitted kitchen, double glazing and the hall refurbished to keep it suitable to serve the local community

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Purpose

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However, a Church is a group of people who love God, not a building.  The Church which now meets at Stanley Street has, since 1884, faced many periods when it has struggled, several times when it has had to consider whether it should close but the members have felt that God has a purpose for the Church.  Thus, with faith in God the Church continues to serve the community in which God has placed it.

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AFFILIATIONS

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Locally

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We have good relationships with the other Churches in Seaham. Together we serve the people of Seaham in events such as Remembrance Day and the Annual Carol Service. At other times we support one another in a variety of ways.

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Regionally

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We are part of a group of like-minded churches based in County Durham and Tyne & Wear called the North East Circuit of Independent Methodist Churches. We work together with them, support one another in sharing the good news of God’s love. We are like a family with many close ties between members of the different Churches and together we are able to do more than we could individually.

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Nationally

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We are part of a group of churches situated mainly in the North of England with others in Bristol, the Midlands and Ramsey on the Isle of Man.  Most of them bear the name “Independent Methodist”, but a few have local names, often related to their origins.

Each of our churches is self-governing, but they are grouped into local circuits to provide help and mutual support to one another.  The churches together form the Independent Methodist Connexion, which acts as a spiritual and collective focal point.  The Connexion has several departments, groups, officers and employees to facilitate the work of our churches by providing encouragement, motivation and resource provision/support wherever practical.

Our denomination is not large, which gives it a character quite different from much larger church bodies.  This has the advantage of simplified administration, but the drawback of a limited national profile.  Each year we hold an Annual Meeting where all the major decisions affecting the denomination are taken by representatives from the churches.

Our group of churches is represented on the appropriate committees of Churches Together in England, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, Free Churches’ Group and Women’s World Day of Prayer.  It is also a member of the Evangelical Alliance.