What a wonderful occasion we enjoyed last weekend! An opportunity to meet with friends old and new, share past joys and memories, enjoy good food and celebrate the unity of our two Churches over a Pentecost weekend!

The weekend of 7th-8th June was something of a highlight in the life of our church, celebrating 70 years since the foundation of St Frideswide’s and 50 years since the opening of the Water Eaton Church Centre (the building we moved into in 1975).

St Frideswide’s was founded in 1955. In the 1970’s, Spurgeon Memorial Baptist Church was looking for a new site in which to worship. Spurgeon’s then entered into a sharing agreement with St Frideswide’s to extend the existing St Frideswide’s site at Water Eaton. The Water Eaton Church Centre was opened on 10th June 1975. By God’s grace, this shared building continues to be used by a thriving community fifty years on.

You can find out more, including a video documenting the opening of the new Water Eaton Church Centre, on Our History page. We will be updating this page with clips recorded from the anniversary weekend in due course… so watch this space!

Over the weekend, we were joined by guests from far and wide. This included former ministers/vicars from both churches, such as Rev Paul Inness, who was minister of Spurgeon’s at the time of the move to WECC in 1975. We were also delighted to be joined by Cllr Paul Trendall, Deputy Mayor of Milton Keynes, Rev Lisa Kerry, Regional Team Leader of the Central Baptist Association & the Rev Canon David Bull, Bishop of Buckingham.

Rev Catherine Butt, vicar of St Frideswide’s, has shared some reflections from the weekend below:

“We enjoyed a wonderful celebration of the 50th anniversary of Water Eaton Church Centre and 70 years of St Frideswide’s!

Saturday afternoon was interesting, inspiring and moving as we heard memories from the past, testimony of what God is doing amongst us today, and looked forward to the future. Rob Grindley presented the plans for our building (which are currently with MK Council for approval) in the context of the story of God’s good plans and purposes for the people in this place.

Sunday morning was a fantastic shared worship service with a real sense of being in the presence of God – a great way to mark the feast of Pentecost and give thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who helps us in every circumstance to walk faithfully in the way of Christ.

I am so delighted that the strands of these anniversaries and the celebration of Pentecost converged at this point when we are ready to launch our plans for the redevelopment of the Church Centre. To me this speaks of the truth that the ‘church’ is the people of God, not a building. But it also is a moment to express our gratitude for the resource that we have been given and to recommit to using it for the glory of God.

Pledge packs are available from church as we spend this month prayerfully considering our response to the task ahead of us. If you are a regular, please take one if you were away at the weekend, and perhaps look back at the YouTube links for Saturday and Sunday to see what you missed!“

Contact us or check out our Livestream Service Archive to view these links.

Pictures from the weekend can be viewed below:

Saturday 7th

Saturday started off with tea, coffee & cake, followed by a Celebration of 50 Years & 70 Years. Lots of memories were shared, as well as performances by MK Acapella and the ‘Trude Bedford choir’. Mrs Bedford was the former organist at Spurgeon’s.

This was then followed by a wonderful fellowship dinner, provided for by Anderson Catering.

Sunday 8th

We began Sunday morning with a joyful celebration service, followed by a Community Picnic Party in the Galilee Gardens.

Reflections from the Deputy Mayor

Deputy Mayor, Cllr Paul Trendall, had these reflections to share after Saturday’s event:

“It was a double anniversary at the Water Eaton Church Centre where I was fortunate to be able to join in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of St Frideswide’s Anglican Church and the 50th anniversary of the move of Spurgeon Memorial Baptist Church to the site where both churches operate alongside each other.

Every day really is a school day and I discovered that this move to the site was only made possible by the Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969 – a relativity unheard of but significant law. It was a truly joyful event with an atmosphere of mutual respect and a shared desire for where we live to be a better and kinder place.“

Finally…

… a message from Karen and Lesley, who organised the Anniversary Celebrations:

“Our very grateful thanks to all who played their part in celebrating the 70th Anniversary of
St Frideswide’s and 50th Anniversary of the Water Eaton Church Centre.

Thank you to Mung and Catherine, who hosted the events and encouraged us to reflect and pray over the Pledge Packs, to Rev’d Lisa Kerry and Bishop Dave for the messages of encouragement and support that they brought to us.

The danger of thanking people is that someone will be left out… please be assured that your contribution has been very much appreciated! From the refreshments’ teams, to the furniture-movers, to the tech teams, to the entertainment, Anderson’s Catering, and all of you, for coming along… may we be thankful to God for all that has gone before, be expectant for all that will come, and be willing to play our part in the future. Amen!“