Tilehouse Street Baptist Church, Hitchin Tilehouse Street Baptist Church, Hitchin
Geographically, Stondon Baptist Church is in Bedfordshire, and yet it belongs as a daughter church to Tilehouse Street in Hitchin, which is in Hertfordshire. Stondon was founded jointly by the fellowships of Tilehouse Street and Shefford as a mission station to a small hamlet community: at an unknown date, the link with Shefford was broken. The present building is dated 1863. Ministry over the years has been provided by good friends, particularly from Tilehouse Street, along with lay pastors. Under Mr Sneath's pastorship the dream of a School Room was fulfilled in 1952.
Whilst
the church enjoyed good support from the people of the village over the next 30
to 40 years, due to various factors, decline set in the 1990s and worshippers
were in single figures. The trend reversed somewhat under the short lay
pastorate of Ian Horsler, but then a rota of different preachers and
once-a-month services on Sunday afternoons meant a decline once more.
Mike Ewings became Lay Pastor in 1999 and
moved into the village with Helen, his wife, later that year. From 2001,
services changed to Sunday mornings and weekly at 10.30am. Worshippers
currently number between 35 to 40.
In the following period, good relationships and contacts with other village organisations were reinforced, and regular assemblies at the village Lower School established good relationships with both teachers and pupils. Being a village community, members of the Parish Church and ours already knew each other well. Revd Jane Wheatley has been officially licensed as Priest-in-charge of the Parish Church and meetings between our two churches have formed a good working relationship.
The chapel, with removable pews, is able to seat 70 people. The School Room is a good size with a stage, plus a kitchen and outside toilets. The buildings have been maintained in good order, but if we are to be a church available for the community, then a large financial outlay is required in order to bring them up to the standards required nowadays. We shall certainly require wisdom to spend money that will facilitate a mission agenda and not just reinforce a maintenance mode.
In August 2008 Mike Ewings retired from the pastorship at Stondon. By divine providence Rev Jane Kingsnorth became available to be interim minister from September that year. Jane is supported by her husband John and her induction took place on the 14th September 2008, conducted by Rev Stephen Copson from the Central Association of the Baptist Union. We pray that this new chapter in the history of Stondon will continue in the plans and purposes of God.
Stondon is no longer a hamlet where, as some of the old folk remember, you could stand in the road and chat. Its five-mile proximity to Hitchin has greatly attracted developers and, for the District Council, the possibility of more Council Tax proceeds is difficult to resist. What is clear is that the development will attract more and more families. The village youth facilities are woefully inadequate and only the Parish Church has a small Sunday School work. So, with this scenario in mind, our aim is to attract families to the church. Since May 2001, Trailblazers for young people have operated at the same time as the service. Holiday Clubs held in the summer have seen a good attendance. We pray that in time this will lead regular attendance at Church.
As the village grows numerically, our prayer is that we play a part in helping it to grow spiritually as well.
