100-year celebration for church building
FLEET United Reformed Church celebrated 100 years of worship at Kings Road building with a special service on Sunday.
Led by John Ellis, moderator of the general assembly of the United Reformed Church, the service was attended by Fleet MP James Arbuthnot and Hart District Council chairman Myra Billings, and included Holy Communion by Fleet Minister Ruth Dillon.
A celebratory buffet was enjoyed by more than 120 current and past church members with representatives of local organisations.
The doors of the newlybuilt church were opened on Wednesday July 15, 1914 and an article was published in the Fleet News two days later.
The building cost £442/19s/0d (£442.95) and was put into service weeks before the start of the First World War. A tea urn was bought for 11s/6d (52.5p) to provide refreshments for the troops in the area before their deployment to the Front.
In 1915, the proximity of an airfield at Farnborough was reflected in the fact the church took out Aircraft Insurance, for £500.
In his sermon, Mr Ellis referred to the words of Mrs Toomes, who performed the opening ceremony in 1914: “Through the guidance of Almighty God, I now open the door of this church for the assembling of God’s people, for the conversion of souls, the extension of Christ’s kingdom and the wellbeing of this town, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.”
Mr Ellis said: “These four purposes retain relevance today but our challenge is to be innovative, creative and use technology to spread the Good News message; the message must be relevant to this generation and future ones. The church, as its name implies, is reformed and must be constantly reforming.”