Celebrating 140 years fo Christ Church
There was a palpable warmth and pride for Christ Church on the afternoon of 12 September when a full church celebrated its 140th birthday. The Rt Revd Robin Smith recalled his appreciation and affection for the church in Waterside. He felt that the work of Christ Church and the more ceremonial style of worship had an important role in the Parish when he was Team Rector of Great Chesham – as indeed it does now.
The centerpiece of the service was the Sunday school pageant. The narrators presented each decade of the church’s history, from 1864 to the present day. As they spoke, a member of the Sunday School and, in some cases, the wider congregation processed to the front of the church dressed in the style of that decade and holding a placard showing the date.
We heard how the land was purchased in the 1860s: how by the turn of the century the church was the thriving heart of Waterside; that a Mothers’ Union branch was established and of the financial crisis of 1906 ( yes it happened then too!). Christ Church has reflected some of the social and political changes over the years. In 1939 the stained glass was protected and blackouts installed at the start of the war, and in 1999 we welcomed our first female vicar! There have clearly been many changes at Christ Church, but there is a sense of consistency too – indeed four generations of the same family were present at the service. And those who remember the boiler breaking down in 1958 knew what to do when it happened earlier this year!
The champagne party afterwards was quite magnificent and we hoped those who masterminded it enjoyed the appreciation that everyone felt.
And of course the whole point was encapsulated perfectly by the parting hymn: -
“So our hearts and voices raising through the ages long,
Ceaselessly upon you gazing, this shall be our song:
Yours the glory and the crown,
The high renown, th’eternal name”.
Extract from an article written by Emma Boot for our Advent 2004 newsletter
The centerpiece of the service was the Sunday school pageant. The narrators presented each decade of the church’s history, from 1864 to the present day. As they spoke, a member of the Sunday School and, in some cases, the wider congregation processed to the front of the church dressed in the style of that decade and holding a placard showing the date.
We heard how the land was purchased in the 1860s: how by the turn of the century the church was the thriving heart of Waterside; that a Mothers’ Union branch was established and of the financial crisis of 1906 ( yes it happened then too!). Christ Church has reflected some of the social and political changes over the years. In 1939 the stained glass was protected and blackouts installed at the start of the war, and in 1999 we welcomed our first female vicar! There have clearly been many changes at Christ Church, but there is a sense of consistency too – indeed four generations of the same family were present at the service. And those who remember the boiler breaking down in 1958 knew what to do when it happened earlier this year!
The champagne party afterwards was quite magnificent and we hoped those who masterminded it enjoyed the appreciation that everyone felt.
And of course the whole point was encapsulated perfectly by the parting hymn: -
“So our hearts and voices raising through the ages long,
Ceaselessly upon you gazing, this shall be our song:
Yours the glory and the crown,
The high renown, th’eternal name”.
Extract from an article written by Emma Boot for our Advent 2004 newsletter
