THE congregation at a historic Forest church are going “from strength to strength” despite having fallen on hard times during the pandemic, after selling their Grade II-listed building to secure its future.

Members of Cinderford Methodist Church (CMC) say they are “delighted” that the church building can now be looked after and is being used more and more by the local community under its new name, ‘The Wesley’.

The 19th century building was purchased by Cinderford Town Council last year as part of its £800k bid for investment in the town centre from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, which also includes the former HSBC bank and Rheola House.

The congregation now rent the church on Sunday mornings and at other times during the Christian calendar, with the building having reopened as a community and arts venue earlier this year.

CMC’s Reverend Denise Hargreaves said that members of the public would be forgiven for thinking the sale was another church closed in Cinderford, but that is “far from” the case.

She explained how the pandemic caused “years of worry” for the congregation with the building needing essential repairs, which made life difficult during the winter months.

“After Covid the current congregation started coming back. It was at times bleak”, Rev. Hargreaves said.

“Once again, in the winter, the boiler failed. The congregation bravely worshipped in a church that had a temperature of less than 10 degrees C and at times resorted to one of the smaller back rooms that could be more easily heated.

“However with the sale of the Church to the Town Council things slowly started to improve.”

The Wesleyan Methodist Church originally opened in 1849, and is named after a prominent preacher responsible for the growth of Methodism in the 1800s.

Unusual for a Methodist church, its stained glass windows depict local scenes along with members of the families who supported it.

The congregation was joined by Church Road Methodists to become Cinderford Methodist Church in 2004.

‘The Wesley’ is now available for hire, including the large hall and stage, and the church is currently being used by care charity Crossroads.

Rev. Hargreaves says the congregation look forward to celebrating the next stage in the church’s life.

She continued: “The coming winter should be a lot more comfortable in the building as the Town Council has made some essential repairs to the heating system.

“The congregation has grown! There is a new young family attending. A person moving to Cinderford helped to double the number of Stewards. A retired Minister has been welcomed, and the number of musicians available for worship has trebled!”

To celebrate the current positiivty surrounding the church, CMC are holding a ‘Thanksgiving Service’ on Sunday (September 11) at 10.30am, followed by a bring and share lunch.

Rev. Hargreaves added: “We hope that people who have previously worshipped with us and perhaps thought we had disappeared, will come along, together with any people new to the area.

“In fact ‘All Are Welcome’. We look forward for new ways to serve the community and show the love of Jesus Christ to all.”