History

The Stocksbridge Christian Centre traces its origins to the Spink Hall Sunday School which met in the main hall of Stocksbridge Modern School (now Stocksbridge High School) on Shay House Lane from 11 October, 1959.  As the Whitwell Estate area was being developed in response to the growth of the Samuel Fox steelworks, it was decided to create an ‘outreach’ project by establishing a Sunday School for children on the estate.  In the first year, there were 40 students taught by five teachers led by Mr. Dudley Beck, the Sunday School Superintendent.

At some time in late 1962,  a site for a permanent building at the corner of Pot House Lane and Cedar Road became available for purchase at £300.   A trust was set up under the authority of  the Methodist minister in Stocksbridge, the Revd. C. G. Edwards, and the Superintendent Minister for the Sheffield North Circuit, the Revd. N. E. Boulton.  Funds were solicited for the purchase of  the land which probably occurred in 1963.  In 1970, the Sunday School  had to leave the school because of the cost of paying for the school custodian to be on duty.  Father John Callanan of St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church offered the Sunday School the free use of the hall of St. Ann’s Catholic Primary School. Spink Hall Sunday School met there until 1974.  A building was erected on the Cedar Road site,  and was officially opened and dedicated on Saturday 28 September, 1974.  On 20 January, 1977,  the building was officially registered as a ‘Place of Meeting for Religious Worship’.  This new building was used by a number of other groups including a ‘Youth Group’, a ‘Twenty Plus’ group’, and a ‘Senior Citizens’ group, all of which were in operation by 1976.

With the forced purchase of the Parkwood Springs Methodist Church site by the Sheffield City Council, it was decided that the funds received could be used most effectively by building a church on the Cedar Road site in Stocksbridge. At the same time, the ‘congregational’ leaders decided that they wanted to develop as an ecumenical church and had discussions with St. Mary’s Church, Bolsterstone and Stocksbridge United Reformed Church.

In January, 1978 the Cedar Road Ecumenical Project Working Party was formed with the Methodist and Anglican clergy as joint chairs. This group produced a set of ‘Aims and Objectives’ and wrote a preliminary constitution for the church. On Sunday 16 July, 1978 at 2 PM,  the sanctuary was opened and formally dedicated, marking the beginning of the ‘work’ as a formal ‘church’.  On 17 September, 1978 the Methodist church on Cedar Road became the ecumenical Stocksbridge Christian Centre, a partnership of the Methodist Church and the Church of England.

From the beginning, the Christian Centre has been keen to preserve and develop its ethos as an ecumenical church bringing together different Christian traditions. When hymnals were purchased in late 1979 the congregation wanted an ecumenical book and chose With One Voice, the hymnal of the Uniting Church in Australia, an ecumenical union of the Congregational Union of Australia, the Methodist Church of Australasia, and the Presbyterian Church of Australia. On 5 September, 1982, a legal Sharing Agreement was signed, formalising the relationship between the two denominations.

From that date, the church has worked as a single, ecumenical congregation committed to working with other churches in ‘The Valley’ individually and through Churches Together in Stocksbridge and District. There is an especially close relationship with St. Mary’s, Bolsterstone; with St. John’s Deepcar and St. Mary’s,  we are members of the Cornerstone Mission Partnership. In addition to contributions to Christian unity events, the Christian Centre’s members are involved with The Bridge charity shop in central Stocksbridge, and the Stocksbridge Food Bank based at The Hub Pentecostal Church. The Lunch Club at the Christian Centre, which meets fortnightly, provides a two-course hot meal for older people, and an opportunity for people to meet and share time together. In November, 2018,  the church started a new venture, the Cornerstone Drop-in Café, meeting from 9 to 11:30 on a Thursday providing an opportunity for local people to drop-in to chat, play games or read magazines and papers.  The church is now considering how it might more effectively reach out and serve its community.