and thanks for your interest in our family friendly church. We are a community of people who want to learn more about being a disciple of Jesus and who seek to serve our local community. We’d love you to come and meet us, and we are always pleased to see visitors at our main worship service which is held at 10.30am each Sunday. Our minister, Rev Rach Ward is here quite frequently, and some services are led by other local ministers or local preachers.This Sunday, 25th June, we welcome Douglas Kerr to lead our worship, and there are more details here.
We are here to
increase awareness of God’s presence and to celebrate God’s love
help people to grow and learn as Christians, through mutual support and care
be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice
make more followers of Jesus Christ
Our presence in West Bridgford
dates from 1888 when our church hall was first built, and we have worshipped in the church building since 1900. The meetings rooms, built 1923, together with the church and hall were fully modernised in the year 2000, equipping us with fine premises for service to the community into the 21st Century.
Details of our Worship and Events
are contained in our monthly newsletter, At a Glance and there is further information in our ‘Nottingham South Circuit News’ which also contains information about neighbouring Methodist churches. You may also be interested to read our church magazine, Voice.
Church Life
Details of our Worship Services and Weekly Church Events
are contained in our monthly newsletter,At A Glancewhich can also be obtained from the church foyer.
Our main worship service is at 10.30 am each Sunday morning, and this is often led by our own minister, Rev Rach Ward.
We also have a monthly gathering for ‘Faith & Light’ (worship and fellowship for those with learning disabilities and their carers) on the first Sunday of each month at 3.00 pm, and a time of informal worship ‘Soul Café’ on the second Sunday of each month at 5.30 pm.
There is further information in our ‘Nottingham South Circuit News’which also contains information about neighbouring Methodist churches and their Sunday services.
If you’d like to know more about other groups meeting at our Church including Friends Together, Meeting Point, Woolly Wednesdays, Singing Together then please contact our Community Engagement Worker Jane.
There is provision for children at our main Sunday services, and a range of weekday activities, including ‘Parent, Carer and Toddler Group’ each Wednesday morning from 9.30 am and each Wednesday afternoon from 1.30 pm. Our popular ‘Storytime’ group meets fortnightly on a Tuesday morning at 11.00 am.
For information about our church Uniformed Organisations – Rainbows, Brownies and Guides (which meet on a Tuesday evening) and Beavers, Cubs and Scouts (which meet on a Friday evening), please use the Contact Form below.
The County Council are proposing to introduce a Residents Parking Scheme on Epperstone Road and George Road which will impact upon the availability of on street car parking near the church. The proposals include the provision of two hour waiting restrictions along Patrick Road to enable people attending church meetings to park nearby in spaces which cannot be taken up by all day parking or visitors for example attending sports fixtures.
A paper copy of the consultation is on the church noticeboard and the documents are also available here.
Should you wish to make a comment, please speak with John Heard who has been liaising with the County Council on this proposal, or with another member of the church Leadership Team.
The final scheme will undoubtedly have a significant impact upon people who are attending the church for worship or for the many other church and community groups and we should therefore consider the proposals very carefully, before the deadline of 10th July.
What’s going on in the church rooms this week?
Simply click on the relevant week for a list of all the church and community groups meeting in that period:
Please note that these diaries are not live, and designed only to give an indication of room usage. There may have been some changes since they were added to the website.
There are full details of each group on the church noticeboard, and information of how you can join an activity. If you want to book a room for a meeting, you can easily see which dates and times may be available, and the visit the Room Hiresection.
Get involved
Volunteering to help at a group
Maybe you’d like to help at one of our community groups, such as Parent, Carer and Toddler, (every Wednesday), Friends Together (fortnightly on Thursdays) or the Memory Lane Café, (monthly on the first Monday).
Our minister Rev Rach Ward, would be pleased to chat with you to help you learn more about becoming a member of the church, or if you would like to enquire about baptism for yourself or a child. Alternatively, you may wish to use the ‘Contact Us’form below.
Weddings and Funerals
You should also contact our ministerRev Rach Ward if you have an enquiry about getting married at the church, or if you would like details about a Methodist funeral service for a loved one. Alternatively, you may wish to use the ‘Contact Us’ form below.
Giving to support the work of the church and circuit
We also need funds to keep our work going, so you can read our leaflet ‘How to Give’ here. It describes how Christian giving is a thankful, cheerful response to God’s commitment to us in Jesus Christ, and invites us to give regularly, systematically and proportionately.
Giving and Outreach
Local Charities
We are pleased to support a number of local charities who work to enhance the quality of life for members of the local community. These include;
,
National Charities
A number of the national charities we support have strong Methodist links, and these include;
International Charities
There are huge needs around the world and we do what we can to raise awareness of and support charities working especially in the areas of relief and development, including;
Giving to support the work of the church and circuit
We also need funds to keep our work going, so you can read our leaflet, ‘How to Give’ here. To keep our building open to serve the community, to pay our staff and to support our volunteers costs over £3,000 per week.
If you are able to Gift Aid your donations, this increases the value of your contribution by 25p for every £1 you give, without costing you anything. The latest ‘Gift Aid form’ is available here, and must be used from April 2016 onwards.
Thank you!
Resources
Church Worship Resources
Maybe you’d like to hear a recent Sermon from the church? We have an archive, which may be accessed on request, but here is the sermon from Covenant Sunday 2017, which is from our minister, Rev Rach Ward, and comes in two parts, linked to the two Gospel readings.
In the days before our exciting church Vision Day, Rev Rach Ward preached a sermon entitled, ‘If you are …’. In the season of Lent, she led us to consider matters of identity and who we are.
On Easter Sunday, as we gathered for all-age worship, Rev Rach challenged us to turn away from the despair of the tomb and to hear the voice of Jesus calling our name.
After Easter, Rev Rach preached on the passage from John’s Gospel where Jesus talks about being the Good Shepherd, and reminded us that the shepherd knows his sheep. You can listen to the passage from John 10 being read and hear for yourself how Rev Rach translates Jesus’ words as ‘Hey up, listen carefully, you need to get this’.
During the run up to Pentecost, we joined in the global wave of prayer, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ and Rev Rach preached on prayer, using Luke 11. The sound quality is poor, because of a technical fault, but we hope you can still get the message. Apologies to our minister, and to Julie who sang so beautifully!
Om Pentecost Sunday we watched some video clips from the film, the Incredibles, after which we were led in thinking about the real Superpower. One of our young people gave testimony about the way in which his faith had been developed as we prepared for thinking about the ways in which our church might better engage with children, youth and families.
Local and national Church News
Or, you might like to read the latest edition of our church magazine, Voice. This contains a range of interesting information, and articles about the life of our church family.
For information from the Methodist Church nationally, there are some exciting stories in ‘Buzz’ which is regularly updated, or you can visit the national Methodist Church website.
As a result of the referendum on 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union. In this time of very significant change and uncertainty there is a need for leadership which seeks the common good and encourages people to work together, to respect one another and to uphold the dignity of all.
The 2016 Annual Conference of the Methodist Church passed a resolution containing the following text:
The Methodist Conference believes that the British Isles are enriched by diversity and celebrates the contribution made by those who have come from other parts of the world.
The Christian tradition calls for respect, tolerance, love of neighbour and hospitality to the stranger. All bear the responsibility of speaking and acting for healing, reconciliation, and mutual respect.
The Methodist Conference abhors and deeply regrets those actions and words which incite hatred and lead to the victimisation of groups within society and notes with concern that such actions and words have been normalised in recent public discourse. Believing that racism is a denial of the gospel and that to stay silent when others are abused is to collude with those who seek to promote hatred and division, the Methodist Conference calls:
on the Methodist people to challenge racism and discrimination.
for a political debate which neither demonises any nor leaves the vulnerable (the foreigner, the immigrant and refugee) in danger of victimisation.
on political leaders to work together for the good of the whole community putting the needs of the nation before party politics.
on all those in positions of power and authority to hear the voices of those who have been marginalised and alienated and to respond to them in ways which offer real hope for the future.
Our rooms are managed by the West Bridgford Methodist Church Property Team for the benefit of the church and local community
They may be hired by other approved users, subject to the completion of a signed Booking Form 2017-2018 and acceptance of our Conditions for Room Use (Issue 2) . It’s always worth an enquiry by phone or email if you are interested in using our rooms for a group or activity.
Our current hourly room rental rates from are shown by the room pictures. The lower price is the charge for community groups. The higher price is for commercial groups and private parties. We have held our prices for three years as part of our commitment to serve our community and we welcome enquiries from room users who wish to come and join us.
Room 2 Community £10 /Commercial £13 Capacity 50 Meetings, Music, Dance (including tap dancing), Physical ActivityRoom 4 Community £10 /Commercial £13 Capacity 40 Meetings, Small Concerts, Quiet RoomRoom 5 Community £10.50 /Commercial £14 Capacity 60 Meetings, Music, Small Concerts, Dance, Physical ActivityRoom 9 Community £10 /Commercial £13 Capacity 30 Meetings, Dance, Physical ActivityUpper Hall Community £14.50 /Commercial £19 Capacity 60 Youth Activities, Dance, Physical Activity, Creative ActivityMain Hall Community £19 /Commercial £24 Main Hall with use of Kitchen Community £23 /Commercial £30 Capacity 80 seated Meetings, Quiet Activity, Music, Parties, Coffee MorningsChurch (minimum session 4 hours) Community £31.25 /Commercial £47.25 Meetings, Concerts, Music, Blood Donation Sessions
All groups need to make their own arrangements, during the booked hire time, to set up any chairs and tables, and to return the room to its usual layout after use. The online booking form, also available from the church foyer must be returned by email to the Administrator or placed in the black posting box adjacent to the church entrance together with a signed copy of the Conditions for Room Use. Telephone bookings are not accepted as a signature is required to confirm the conditions of hire.
Regular bookings should be confirmed by submitting a form one month before the start of the next school term. Terms are defined as
1st September – 31st December 2017 (Autumn 2017)
1st January – 15th April 2018 (Spring 2018)
16th April – 31st August 2018 (Summer 2018)
Occasional bookings for other sessions must be made at least 7 days in advance. Payment in advance may be requested. Cancellationsmust also be made at least 7 days in advance using the standard Cancellation Form, otherwise the full fee for the booking will be charged.
All users must abide by the conditions described in the and ensure that they submit a signed copy with their booking form, together with a copy of their Public Liability Insurance for at least £5 million to safeguard both group members and the other users of this church and community building. This is a shared facility, so users must show awareness of others and be prepared to help with management of the building. It is also important for Health and Safety that the rooms and communal areas are left clean and tidy condition after each session.
For help with any matters regarding bookings, phone the church office (0115) 9141253 or contact John Heard (0796 212 1571) administrator@wbmethodist.org.uk
Contact Us
This enquiry will be sent to administrator@wbmethodist.org.uk and your details may then be passed to the minister, Rev Rach Ward or other relevant officer.
You may also use this form to submit a prayer request, or to register for a regular email update on events and activities at the church, which are sent out each week to those on the mailing list.
