Church reflects on past and looks to the future for its 150th anniversary
THE shortest route to get to St John’s from Crowthorne’s High Street lies between the Coral betting shop and the GS Supermarket.
Walk just a few hundred yards and you’ll find the church described by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as having “special architectural and historical interest”.
The area around St John the Baptist parish in Waterloo Road, which is a mix of greenery on one side and modern housing on the other, would have looked very different 150 ago when it was opened in May 1873.
But the current vicar, the Revd Laura Wheatley Downs, explains the parish’s mission remains the same: “Church is definitely not just for Sundays.
“Our members are active throughout the week, not just with church groups but in different local organisations.”
The site on which St John’s was built was a free gift from a Mrs Gibson of Sandhurst Lodge. The foundation stone was laid on September 27th, 1872 and the church consecrated just eight months later by the Bishop of Oxford.
In the 1960s, a hall was added at the west end with a further extension completed 20 years later. Recent years have seen a major programme of repair and redevelopment including a parish office, refurbished kitchen and toilets, new roof, a smart heating system and refurbished organ.
Mrs Downs, who took up her post in October last year, described the anniversary as an opportunity for the church to “reflect on the past and to look forward to the future.
”In this anniversary year, we celebrate the faithfulness of God in Crowthorne over the decades,” she said. “We are a very sociable, inclusive and welcoming parish with a close sense of community.
“We are a thriving church which coped well through covid, and even through the lockdowns we kept our numbers up through online media. Between 90 and 120 people attend each Sunday morning for worship.
“We have a strong focus on missions with 12.5% of all planned giving going to our missions.”
St John’s also works with the local food bank and runs a bus service and after school club with Churches Together in Crowthorne.
There are still areas of deprivation and poverty in Berkshire, explained Mrs Downs.
“There are also Ukrainian families who have come here and who need help and friendship.
“I was
Archbishop pleased the of Canterbury spoke out recently to remind us that as a Church, we are called to love refugees and migrants.”
Other parish groups include the Mothers’ Union, Sunday Club, Book Club. Churchyard Team and Prayer Group.
Celebrations for the 150th anniversary kicked off last week with a concert by the renowned Hart Male Voice Choir which has performed all over the world with more events planned over the next 12 months.