The following blog is taken from November 2024 issue of News from the Pews. For those who were unable to visit us during our Heritage Open Days, we have a prepared a selection of images and a short video of the church and exhibition, which are available below. If you zoom in on the images, you should be able to read the text and view the images of the displays.
Heritage on the Highstreet
Many months ago, whilst planning for our 150th anniversary year, it was suggested that we put on a special exhibition which celebrates our church history. It was also suggested that we take part in Heritage Open Days, a national scheme for opening historic buildings to the public. So, we decided to put the two together and during September the doors were opened over five days to showcase our beautiful, traditional Methodist church alongside a wonderful exhibition put together by church members, groups and local schools.
The exhibition included a variety of displays about the last 150 years including life in the church. These shared information about how the church came to be - an amalgamation of smaller local chapels - and some of the ministers and key figures from over the years. There was an array of documents such as baptism registers, old photos, and the Hebron Messenger (the original News from the Pews!). The old chapel banner was also hanging up after many years of being in storage.
Another exhibit explored life in the 1870s (the decade the church was built) with information about significant events, literature and places from that time. We also had two displays from local schools, Staple Hill Primary School and the Tynings School, with a selection of wonderful artworks of the church, facts about Aston Villa Football Club (which was established in 1874) and Ernest Shackleton the explorer (born in 1874). We also had a display about Girlguiding which told us about the beginnings of the movement through to the current day, including changes in uniforms, the Guide Law and Promise, and the badges.
During the five days we welcomed over 350 visitors through our doors! - some who had a connection to the church, but many who had never been in the building before and all spent time enjoying the space and historical information displayed. We had some lovely feedback on the event with one saying ‘I called into this beautiful church today. It had some informative displays, some lovely and interesting stories and drawings from local schools. Thank you for the welcome to your lovely space’. Another said ‘I loved this event. As a child of the local school, I went to this church many times, as did my father … it was lovely to show my daughters a piece of my history as well as my dad’s. I also learnt new things about the church’.
Our exhibition contributors, conversation makers, cake bakers, flowers arrangers and many others all made this a huge success …. and in Methodist tradition many cups of tea and coffee were served. It was a privilege to be able to take part in Heritage Open Days and celebrate our 150th anniversary year with so many visitors from far and wide. Thank you to all those involved and everyone who supported this special event.
More images and a video of our exhibition below.
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