75th Anniversary Celebrations - 1938 to 2013

1938 - 2013 -ongoing

2013 was the 75th Anniversary of the building of the Methodist Church

on its current site on the Worcester Road in Droitwich Spa.

We celebrated this milestone with various activities throughout the year during which we invited people to

“Come and Celebrate”

with us

The year began with the Church Anniversary event on Sunday 27^th January 2013

The Anniversary celebrations were launched at a service of worship led by our minister the Rev. Jane Wilson, which the High Sheriff of Worcestershire, the Chairman of Wychavon District Council and the Mayor of Droitwich Spa amongst others, attended. Following this our guests and congregation shared a 75th Anniversary cake over tea and coffee.

There was also a prayer event at 5:30 followed by a worship and communion service at 6:30. The prayer event concentrated on the first 2 decades of the church's history, 1930s and 40s. There were many artefacts from the period to look at and links to the present day were considered prayerfully.

Celebration of marriage on 10th February

As part of celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the building of the current church in 1938, there was a service in celebration of marriage on February 10^th. Over 30 couples who’d been married at the church joined the congregation of 170 to mark National Marriage Week, reflecting on what love means and recalling their own marriage vows. Rev. Jane Wilson who led the service said “It was wonderful to see so many couples of all ages, including newlyweds and others married for many years, joining us in this celebration of the gift of love, described by St Paul as the greatest of all gifts, shown in the love of God in Jesus.

As part of the celebration of 75^th anniversary of the building of the church on its current site, Droitwich Spa Methodist Church held a special service on Pentecost Sunday to celebrate baptism.

Around 40 children and adults who were baptised at the church on Worcester Road joined the congregation for a special service in celebration of baptism, during which they renewed their baptismal promises and used water from the font to sign each other with the cross.

Minister Rev Jane Wilson said “Pentecost is a high point in the church year when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ disciples and the beginning of the Christian church. When children or adults are baptised they are welcomed into the family of God and we celebrate the beginning of their relationship with Jesus Christ. The birth of a child and of the church signal the beginning of something special and good and the same is true of baptism. Although most of us celebrate our birthday every year and Christians celebrate the birthday of the church at Pentecost, we don’t often celebrate our own baptism, so we thought this was a great opportunity to invite people to come and celebrate their baptism as the beginning of their ongoing relationship with Jesus.”

The service was followed by a picnic lunch and games in the church garden.

A Festival of Creativity weekend on 28th to 30th June;

Over the weekend of 28th to 30th June a there was a Celebration of Creativity exhibition of handmade items made by members of the church community. Here are some of the items which were displayed.

Services led by previous ministers of the church

• Richard Barley – 12^th May

• Ian Johnson – 23^rd June

• Peter Hatton – 28^th July

• Donald Knighton – 18^th August

• Catherine Campbell-Hyde – 8^th September

• An Exhibition of the Garments of Gethsemane from 22 November to 30^th November

The Gethsemane Garments are Four Garments created by Rev Peter Privett using a mixture of machine & hand sewing, dyed, painted & printed materials, including beads, shells, bone and a variety of synthetic & natural fabrics. Each of the four Garments is based on a liturgical colour representing different times in the church year; red, green, purple & white/gold, and explores a different aspect of the themes of pain, hope, suffering and resurrection in the world. Each Garment has stitched into it biblical texts from the Old & New Testament. It was Peter Privett's original intention to include quotations on the garments that were taken from contemporary sources, such as newspapers, adverts and other commentaries, but as the works began to emerge biblical texts came to mind that seem to speak for the present time.

“In this context Peter leaves us, through his garments, with an enduring challenge. There is no requirement to stand back & admire & reflect, but rather an invitation to handle each garment and discover the texts. It is the texts in the context of what each garment offers that present each audience with the opportunity to match the words with contemporary quotations taken from anywhere and in any language to provide an updating with contemporary issues.”

On Saturday 23rd November Peter Privett gave a talk about the creative processes involved in producing the Garments, which were created in a mode of spiritual exploration and journey. The exhibition was then open during the rest of the day/week for for visitors to come & engage with the Garments. This included a Prayer Trail around the 4 Garments, using them as an aid to personal prayer and quiet reflection, followed by a worship service at 6.30pm on Sunday 24th November.

Visitors were invited to touch and handle the Garments to discover the texts and use them as a tactile stimulus for reflection and prayer.

• • A Celebration Concert on 7th December

    • This was well-attended and included contributions from members of the congregations.

    • Other events

  • A end of year Coffee Morning on Saturday 25th January and reflection back on the year and what lies ahead

  • A 2014 Anniversary Service on Sunday 26th January at which a second banner produced as part of the 75th year celebrations was dedicated

• • • • • • • Other

            • We are also investigating creating a Food Bank as a permanent legacy for our local community, in conjunction with Churches Together in Droitwich .

            • We have also produced a book of personal testimonies written by members of our church community about “their faith journey”, how they became a Christian, or about a turning point in their life, or a time when they became aware of God’s presence in a new way, or about “What Jesus means to me”. If you would like a copy please contact the Church Office.

• • • • • • • !!!Come and celebrate with us!!