QPBC PAST PRESENT & FUTURE There have been Baptist Churches in Coventry for over 300 years and in Cheylesmore since the estate was developed post war. Quinton Park Baptist church has it's beginnings in the post war period after St Michael's Church in the city centre was bombed and destroyed. A site was purchased in Cheylesmore and over a ten year period first a church hall and then a church were built. Over it's fifty year history it has been a part of it's community looking to serve; proclaim and live out the good news of Jesus. In recent years we have been seeking a vision for the next 50 years. We have found that the statement 'Christ at the heart in the heart of Cheylesmore' expresses concisely where our heart and desire lies. We have been exploring how to make the most of our central location in the estate (see how to find us link on the 'Home' page) and the site itself which is not used to it's full potential. We are currently in negotiations with some local GP's to sell part of our site, on which they would build a modern, fully equipped surgery. We in turn would improve our facilities with a modern purpose built suite of buildings at the back of the church. The negotiations are at an advanced stage and we hope that building work will begin some time this year (2008). Contract arrangements have progressed well and we are on target for completion during Jan/Feb 2008. McCarthy and Stone have submitted a detailed planning application for development of the Daventry Road site. Once that is accepted they will be in a position to make the £250,000 available for our build. So, if the land is sold and the above mentioned planning agreed we will be in a position to give the builders the go ahead to build our new Community Hall and Rooms. Please remember that we still need to raise funds, as we are a little short of our target, but the more we raise the better the finished article will be and we still need to furnish the new rooms! Bryan would love to relieve you of some of your cash! Our hope and vision is that through this redevelopment it will bring new life to our part of Cheylesmore which is rather run down and we are working hard to develop plans for how to make use of our new facilities. A particular idea that we are working on at the moment is for a coffee bar/cafe, and a listening/counselling service. In this way we hope that our vision of 'Christ at the heart in the heart of Cheylesmore' will be realised. Please see the latest news on the 'Redevelopment' page for an update on the progress. The History The Beginnings of St Michael's Baptist Church The first pastor of St Michael's, Revd William Rosevear, came to Coventry as co-pastor of Cow Lane Chapel in 1850, direct from Bristol College. Following the death of Revd Francis Franklin, he remained as sole pastor for about four years. However in April 1856 "Circumstances led to his resignation of the pastorate". We are given no other details of these 'Circumstances', but following his resignation the Coventry Herald reported that " An effort is being made by Mr Rosevear's friends to induce him to remain in Coventry, and commence a new sphere of labour". This new ministry commenced on 27th April 1856 with a meeting in St Mary's Hall. Within a week a site at the corner of Hay Lane and Bayley Lane was secured, and on May 21st a public meeting was held in St Mary's Hall attended by four to five hundred people. Plans for a chapel and school drawn up by Mr Murray, were presented to the meeting. The cost of the site and the building was estimated to be about £3,500, a figure which proved to be hopelessly optimistic, with the building costing at least half as much again. There was some opposition to the plans, principally because of the underground schoolroom which it was felt would " Bottle up the children in a cellar", but in the event the church was built to the original plan. At about this time, West Orchard Congregational Chapel was undergoing extensive structural alterations, and so arrangements were made for the united services of the West Orchard church and St Michael's congregation to be held in the Corn Exchange. The services were conducted alternately , morning and evening by Revd E H Delf of West Orchard, and Revd William Rosevear. On October 9th 1856 the foundation stone was laid by Apsley Pellatt Esq., a well known nonconformist MP, following which a dinner for 230 people was provided in the Corn Exchange. The guests included Sir Joseph Paxton MP (of Crystal Palace fame, and at that time MP for Coventry), and Revd RP MacMaster, William Rosevear's successor at Cow Lane. The Church was opened on 17th February 1858, and by the end of that year there were 106 members. Membership showed a steady increase in those first years, 126 in 1859, 135 in 1860, and 142 in 1861. In 1860 the government removed the import duty on French silks which resulted in the collapse of the English industry. This caused St Michaels great hardship with many people moving to other parts of the country to find work. The under estimate of the cost of the church, and the falling congregation saw St Michael's with an interest debt of over £80 per year which almost caused its collapse. Because of this great financial problem, William Rosevear resigned in 1861, and took up a post in Abingdon. The church now faced a long period without a pastor, and a debt of over £2,600. By 1864 another pastor, Revd Thomas Bentley was appointed on condition that the debt was sub-stantially reduced. This was not carried out immediately, but it is apparent that a substantial reduction had been achieved by the time Thomas Bentley moved on in 1866. Revd E Carey Pike was appointed in 1867 but he too found that the church's debt was a burden in spite of over £500 having been paid off during his ministry. The Debt Resolved and Steady Revival When Revd E Carey Pike left in 1872, it was unanimously resolved to invite William Rosevear to return. He agreed on condition that the debt was cleared, which to everyone's joy, and relief, it was. The following years were a time of steady revival with another four pastors being called from the time of William Rosevear's retirement in 1891 to 1908 - the church's fiftieth anniversary. In the winter of 1908 a series of Gospel services were held after the evening service. They were reported to be successful in attracting large congregations. The object of these Gospel Services makes interesting reading even today. "It is earnestly hoped, however, that by this agency something may be done towards influencing for good, the many thousands in Coventry who attend no place of worship, and especially the young, who seem fast hardening into indifference to all the efforts of the churches to reach them, and draw them into the Kingdom". By 1919 there were 198 members and a variety of activities were on offer, such as Christian Endeavour, Boy's Brigade, Mother's Union, Choir and Young people's Bible Class. A number of names familiar to present members crop up at this time - Freeman, Pierson, Spooner, Booth, Lane and Hughes. Looking through the accounts of this time is fascinating, for instance, bills for coke, water and electricity from Coventry Corporation, the collection for buns and oranges which realised £2/11/6d and £2/10/9d sent to the Baptist Missionary Society. Advertisements in the Midland Daily Telegraph cost £3/5/-, were these for advertising services or for additional activities? Few records of the church from its fiftieth anniversary until the momentous events of 1940 exist, largely because these very records were destroyed with the church. The Second World War - Destruction and a New Beginning In July, 1940, Gosford Street Baptist Church was severely damaged by enemy action, and the roof of the adjoining school room was partly destroyed. Members of the church started to worship at St Michael's, but on 14th November, 1940, during the air raid which destroyed the Cathedral, St Michael's was also utterly destroyed. This left both congregations homeless, and for one Sunday they could not meet for worship. A small room was placed at their disposal at Queen's Road, and on the following Sunday both congregations met and worshipped there. This continued for four months while the Lecture Hall at Gosford Street was repaired and cleaned. It was then used for worship by the united congregations. The Two churches decided to become one, under the pastorate of St Michael's minister Revd Joseph Richards. As the Gosford Street site was scheduled for demolition, and the St Michael's site was wanted for an extension to the Council House, fresh sites were sought in the suburbs, and very quickly two sites were purchased, one in Meredith Road, Stoke, and one in Cheylesmore. These were paid for with a £4,600, interest-free loan from the Baptist Union. About this time there were reported to be 140 children at-tending Sunday School in Ravensdale School, but that, as yet, there was no building found to be available in Cheylesmore. Meanwhile, the united church was seeking "at least" £4,000 to erect semi- permanent buildings on the two sites. The Work Begins in Cheylesmore On 16th November 1947, 250 children came to the community centre in Arundel Road for the first Sunday School. They were welcomed by the minister of Gosford/St Michael's, and Joan Beeton told the story of how the two churches had come together during the war. Over the next weeks the children were divided into classes and departments, with Joan Beeton as Superintendent. Ernie Walters Treasurer, and Margery Chapman Secretary. The teaching staff were Emma Howells, Freda Finney and Ray Chapman. In 1949, Mollie and Walter Wilkinson joined the teaching staff. A Badminton group met after Sunday School, and so they would set out their equipment, as the teachers cleared away after Sunday School. Evening Services started early in 1948 when there were often 60 to 70 people in the congregation. Morning Services at this time consisted of no more than twelve people, The Wilkinson's and their two children were often half of the congregation! The church organisations started around 1950 with Brownies led by Joan Beeton and Peggy Turner, Boys Brigade led by Len Hughes and Life Boys led by Ray Chapman and Arthur Kenworthy, assisted by Lily Walters. Guides were also led by Joan and Peggy. Each Sunday morning at 10.00am there was a Bible Class for BB boys - attendance was compulsory! In 1950 Ray Chapman took over as Sunday School Superintendent from Joan Beeton, and in 1954, George McIntosh started to help with Lifeboys. It must be remembered that even at this time, the fellowship at the community centre was still part of the Gosford/St Michael's Church, and as Revd Richards still had responsibility for Gosford Street, many lay preachers were called upon. The Church Arrives at Quinton Park After four and a half years at the community centre, the fellowship moved to the present site, though some classes still met at the community centre. The Church Hall (now known as the "small" hall) was opened on 12th July 1952 bv Revd and Mrs Richards, and Mr Pierson. Two children who had been members of the Sunday School since its opening, Alan Clowes and Bronwyn Collins, went into he new hall first. Altogether 250 children and their teachers processed from the community centre to the hall where a service was held. Once on the present site, numbers began to increase as it now felt like a proper church, rather than just rooms in a community centre. rhe work continued to expand with the starting of a Young People's Fellowship in 1953 on a Thursday evening, and was initially run by Ray Chapman and May Carvell, with Arthur Kenworthy taking over after a short while. By now all the Sunday School departments met in the hall with Beginners and Primary from 2.30 to 3.15pm. Juniors and Seniors met from 3.30 to 4.15pm. On February 17th 1954, Revd Joseph Richards died following a long battle against cancer. On the 26th September 1954, the first Baptismal Service was held, when seven young people were baptised and received into the fellowship. At the seventh anniversary Service in November, it was announced that Revd Kenneth Parkhurst would be coming the following year. Our First Minister, and Official Recognition Ken Parkhurst arrived at Quinton Park in February 1955 as our first Minister and immediately set to work on helping to raise money for a new church building. On 1st June 1955, Quinton Park was officially recognised by the Baptist Union, and nine deacons were elected. Tom Carvell, Tom Pierson, Frank Gilbert, Ernie Walters, Len Hughes, Percy Gardner and Frank Harper were previously deacons of the Gosford/St Michael's church, and two new deacons, Ray Chapman and Joan Beeton were also elected. Mrs G Hughes, was Secretary, and Mr R Booth was Treasurer. A New Church, and a Continuing Work Following two years of intensive fund raising to supplement the war damage grant, the new church was opened on 14th December 1957. The official opening was carried out by Mrs Richards - widow of Revd Joseph Richards, and the service was conducted by Revd Stanley Turl of West Ham Central Mission. It is interesting to note that after the monetary troubles suffered by St Michael's following the building of the original church, there was no debt on the church in 1957, due to the tremendous efforts led by Ken Parkhurst. Ken will always be remembered for travelling the area on his bike, carrying his ministry to young families moving into the area. Neil Hall's ministry lasted until early 1971, when he left for King's Road Reading. On May 15th 1971, Revd Roger Woodward was inducted to the ministry at Quinton Park, beginning a long pastorate which saw the church through many changes. The Church Grows and Matures An interesting and unusual event took place on Christmas Day 1976, when the Christmas Morning service was tele-vised on BBC 1. It was joint service with West Orchard, and is still remembered by many at both churches as a unique and special occasion. The late 1970's and early 1980's saw an expansion of youth work within the church with a thriving Boys Brigade band and the re-forming of the Brownies under Mrs Lewin and the Guides under Sylvia Woodward. However this expansion was curtailed in the 1980's with the collapse of many industries in Coventry. The result was that the church lost members who moved out of the city to find work elsewhere. Several leaders left which meant that youth work in particular had to be restructured, and has not recovered to this day. The last additions to the church buildings were completed in 1989, when the link between the church and the hall, and new steps at the front of the church were put in place. There were a number of changes in office during this period with Ray Chapman taking over the Church Secretary's job from Joan Beeton in 1974, a job Joan had held since 1958 Jean Bywater was Secretary from 1977 to 1986, and Alan Schofield became Church Secretary in 1986. Peter Nicholls took over the post of Treasurer from George McIntosh in 1993, a post George had held for thirty years. Young Wives, formed in 1971 has now become Ladies Circle as the "young" became more mature, while the other women's organisation, originally known as "Sisterhood" has now become Women's Fellowship, and is still well supported. Senior Friends Fellowship formed in 1987 with the assistance of Revd Stanley Bushill continues to attract many of our more mature members and friends. Regular changes of personnel saw Jenny Schofield being placed in charge of Seekers, the new style "Sunday School. Merle Thompson, Doreen Jenner and Jenny Cosser running Anchor Boys. 'Playtime' on Tuesdays, started by Carol Green and run latterly by Jenny Cosser continued to attract parents with their children until 2007 which saw it come to an end due to the redevelopment of the hall. Unfortunately Boys Brigade and Anchor Boys folded in the early 1990's and currently Brownies and Guides are both in difficulties. Two other activities are particularly worthy of note. Firstly for over 15 years the church welcomed a Student Minister each summer, so that the Student could have practical experience of working in a church, and we could benefit from new personalities and ideas. Secondly, in 1980 the church supported, financially, the training of Moises Amorim from Brazil at Spurgeon's College. Another Era Begins The Revd Roger Woodward left us for Northfield Church in Birmingham. His last Sunday with us was 18th January 1998, bringing to a close a ministry which lasted almost 27 years.