OUR CHURCH
Lansdowne church was opened in 1866.
It owes its
existence to the Reverend William Morley Punshon, a well-known
Methodist
minister of the time, who was the instigator of "the Wesleyan Watering
Places Chapel Building Fund", a scheme to assist the building of
chapels
in "places of summer resort". Without a grant of £850 from
the
fund, it would have been much more difficult for the members of those
days,
numbering about 30, to have raised the £2680 required for such an
imposing
building.
HOW TO
FIND US
From the town centre head down the main street (Church St),cross the
traffic lights at Graham Rd and continue down the main road.
Lansdowne Crescent is about 200 yards down on the left, just past
Manor Park Sports Club. A sign for Malvern hospital marks the entrance
to Lansdowne Crescent and the Church is immediately visible at the
lower end of the Crescent. A detailed map is given on the Contact Us page.
SERVICES
Sunday 10.30-11.30a.m
6.30-7.30pm
Weekday Communion First Tuesday each month at 9.00am
Minister: Rev Catherine Campbell Hyde
THE METHODIST MOVEMENT
The Methodist church was founded largely through the efforts of the
brothers John
(1703-1791) and Charles (1707-1788) Wesley. In 1729, whilst
students at Christchurch College,Oxford they
founded the Oxford Holy Club for worship, study and the organisation of
visits to the sick
and imprisoned. It was an austere society with strict codes of conduct
and study methods based on those of the University; in
consequence,
fellow students began to call them 'Methodists'. Charles and John
were
members of the Anglican church and remained so for the rest of their
lives. After graduation they continued their roles in the Church,
Charles
becoming a curate in the 'Methodist' parish of St Mary's Islington,
where he
began to write many of the hymns for which he is now famous. He
also
began the important task of defining much of the theological content
and
liturgy of the Methodist Movement. Meanwhile, John had begun a
roving
ministry, touring the country on horseback and by carriage. He was a
charismatic preacher and a political reformer, whose impact on English
social
life in the mid 18th Century, drove many of the social reforms of the
day. He became increasingly disillusioned with the Anglican
church and
the Church was increasingly wary of Wesley and his followers. In
1784 he
set up the first Methodist Conference, designed to ensure continuation
of the
movement after his death. The increasing acrimony between the
Methodists
and Anglicans led finally in 1795, four years after Wesley's death, to
a split
from the Anglican church and the formal, legal recognition of Methodism
as a
'non-conformist' Church.
In recent times. reconciliation and the recognition of common aims has
led to
an ecumenical movement bringing Anglican and Methodists (and those of
other
denominations too) closer together. Lansdowne church is an active
participant in the Malvern branch of the 'Churches Together' Movement.
A more detailed history of the Wesleys and the Methodist movement can
be found
on our Methodism page
THOUGHTS FROM THE BIBLE
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the
midst of them - St Matthew Chapter 19, Verse 20
For if you forgive
others the wrongs they have done, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you - St Matthew
Chapter 5 Verse 14
