St. Joseph’s Church, Merry Hill, Wolverhampton

Humble beginnings….

It was at the turn of the twentieth century that a wooden mission room was first erected on the corner of New Street / Coalway Road. Services began being held in this corner of the fast-growing parish of Penn Fields in June of 1902 and continued until 1929, when the mission room was sold for the £50.

In that same year, Sir Charles Marston loaned a site of five acres for a Mission Church to be built in Merry Hill. This would be a church – dedicated to St Joseph of Arimathea – to serve the growing community that he foresaw would one day cover the area. As the wooden mission church was being built, a similar building was also erected on the site to serve as a scout hut and community resource.

 

Bricks and mortar….

The intention had always been to build a permanent church on the site, and to add a vicarage and a churchyard. However the Second World War intervened, and so plans were put on hold. This was followed by the local authority placing a compulsory purchase order on the entire site for the building of the Warstones Estate. The parish was  very disappointed to retain only a small portion of the original site, and by the meagre compensation paid for the land. However the original plan to build a lasting church to serve the community remained, and so in 1954-5 a new brick building was built costing £8,000. The Sunday School raised almost £2,000 of this, and the wooden Mission Church was dismantled and sold for £450 to be a village hall. The new Church was dedicated by Stretton Reeves, the Bishop of Lichfield, on Saturday 5th November, 1955.

 

A building for the community

From the outset the brick building was envisaged as dual-purpose – what one church member remembers calling a “Chall”. The vision was that one day this first building would be left as a hall and a new church be built alongside. Further renovations were carried out in 1976, on the west side of the church, with the addition of a kitchen, toilets and meeting rooms.

Such growth in the fabric of the church coincided with significant growth in the south-west of Wolverhampton. The growth of Warstones estate in the 1950s, and the Merry Hill flats in the 1960s, led to a changing community of Merry Hill, and fresh opportunities to serve that community.

 

A District Church

St Joseph’s now had a building it needed to serve Sir Charles’ original vision, but not yet a stable structure of leadership in place. Until now ministry at St Joseph’s had been the responsibility of curates of the parish of Penn Fields, changing every 2 or 3 years. Thus St Joseph’s – and St Aidan’s, the other daughter church in the parish – experienced a rather disjointed ministry.

In the early 1970s  talk began of St Joseph’s becoming a ‘district church.’ This would give the church its own experienced minister, more authority to make decisions, and much greater continuity in its life and ministry. At the same time it would establish its relationship within Penn Fields Parish as a whole. The then vicar Revd James Challis, the PCC of Penn Fields Parish, and St Joseph’s Church Committee all agreed that this be a good way forward, and after a number of discussions and much prayer they agreed a constitution with the diocese of Lichfield.

The scheme was approved at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in 1977, and came into effect from the AGM in 1978. Revd Alex Jack, then curate in the parish, was licensed as District Church Minister on 27th September 1978.

 

New Life

Alex Jack’s arrival as minister and becoming a district church brought a new lease of life to all at St Joseph’s and laid good foundations for future growth. These were the early years of Mothers and Toddlers Group, Wednesday Circle, and the Key Club for housebound people. Alex also encouraged new home groups meeting locally. The development of new homes in the Warstones estate led to about 10,000 people living in the Merry Hill area, and thus created many opportunities for visiting homes and welcoming new tenants.

 

Keep on building…

In 1984 Alex Jack was succeeded by Revd David Banting as Resident Minister. Each generation of worshippers at St Joseph’s had wrestled with how to build God’s church in Merry Hill, and under David’s dynamic leadership the latter years of the 1980s were to be no different. As well as wrestling with the spiritual call to fruitfulness and discipleship, talk about a possible re-ordering or extension of the church was added to the agenda.

 

A Venture of Faith

Gordon Rostance was one of the key players of this period. Whilst waking one morning in 1985 he heard a “very loud, deep and very clear voice say “Build my Church”. This led to the founding of a buildings committee, who worked with the church, the diocese and the architects to prepare ambitious plans and estimates for what would be a new church built at the side of the then church. It would accommodate over 200 worshippers in an attractive and flexible space, and would free up the ‘old church’ to be a resource for the church and community alike.

During this period the church was encouraged in particular by the biblical figure of Moses, who showed great faith in a great God and acted on that. Given the scale of the project it would not have been difficult to shy away from the challenge, but instead the congregation of St Joseph’s stepped out in faith and trust. The total cost of the building project was £468,000, of which £245,000 was raised through the sacrifice and efforts of members and friends of St Joseph’s. The loan for the building work was repaid 14 months ahead of time by Christmas 1995.

 

“With God nothing will be impossible”

Building began in autumn 1988, with one of the mildest winters on record. The ‘new’ church was first used on Christmas Eve of 1989, with a formal opening in April 1990. This coincided with the arrival of a new resident minister, Revd Michael Hunter, to take the church on in its new stage of ministry. Affirmed by Michael’s quiet encouragement and inspired teaching, new patterns of lay ministry began to emerge in the 1990’s. Taking on board the Diocesan “Primary Purpose” areas of worship & prayer, teaching & nurture, justice & care, outreach & evangelism, the church was encouraged to move “Forward together with God.” Whilst formerly some had been called from within the church and the parish to ordination, and others to serve abroad as mission partners, this period saw the calling, training and equipping of a number of lay leaders in the church and in the parish of Penn Fields.  

 

Into the 21st century

The journey of faith did not cease when the building project was completed. The doors of St Joseph’s were poised to open even wider to serve God both in the Church and the surrounding community. 2002 saw the arrival of Revd Jeremy Oakley as vicar of Penn Fields parish, followed by the present Resident Minister, Revd Phil Cansdale, in March 2003. They both brought new areas of expertise, and new inspirations about what it is to do and be church in a changing culture.

 

Onwards and Upwards?

And so the venture of faith continues. “Start” and “Grow” courses have helped those enquiring about the Christian faith. “Presence” has sought to be a new monthly service for the parish with a more contemporary feel. “The Noise” has provided a place for children to enjoy worship and learn together 3 or 4 times a year. Firmer links have also been made with the residential homes in the community, and local schools. There is much to be thankful for, and much to be encouraged by.

With thanks to Pamela Lord, Alex Jack, Don Bannister, Pam Teece & Phil Cansdale