Warley Woods Methodist Church

“Church on the hill”

Welcome

Warley Woods is part of Methodism and is in the Birmingham (West) & Oldbury Circuit.
Our minister is Rev. Mucha Chisvo who is also the Superintendent for our circuit.

We welcome all ages to our church and have a special love for babies and young children, however vocal they may be.
Each one of us holds different views on faith and life, so new points of view are always welcome.

We offer a variety of styles of worship due to our services being led by ministers, local preachers and worship leaders.

At the heart of the Christian faith is a belief in the possibility of new beginnings. The story of the Phoenix rising from the ashes and the image of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis are reminders to us that God, in his love, is always there to help us rise to new life.

Short History

Warley Woods church began life in 1917 when a small group of people met in a house in Rathbone Road. Over the years the congregation has moved, firstly to a room in Abbey Junior School and then, in 1929, to our first church on this present site.
Sadly this was demolished in 1990, which was a real blow to the congregation – as well as a loss of a great landmark in the community. But out of this loss came new life, a new depth of friendship between the members and a new “Church on the hill” to be a beacon of hope in the community.

The foundation stone for our present church was laid in November 1994 and the first service took place in April 1995. This church is like “home” to many of us as we spent years in raising the money to help with building costs by organising concerts, coin mountains, table top sales, skittle evenings and many more activities.

The church is versatile and can be used in many different ways just by moving the chairs into new positions. We are able to move into small groups when needed, into a circle if required or sit quietly in our prayer room if silence is needed.

The doors are always open to new members and new leaders, to continue in the service of God and provide a welcome to all who seek guidance and fellowship

Worship at Warley Woods

Sunday Worship

A service is held every Sunday morning between 11am to 12 noon-ish
The second Sunday of each month includes Holy Communion
The third Sunday is All Age Worship, particularly suitable for children

Joint section or circuit services take place, usually quarterly, when churches are invited to join together in praise.
A designated church hosts the worship, usually on a Sunday afternoon or evening.

Our ministers have charge of three or four churches and because of this we have a variety of preachers leading our services.
This leads to a wonderful variety of worship and differing points of view.

We liaise with our local Church of England, St Hilda’s, and share worship at Easter and Christmas in particular.

We have three options for music within our services – the organ, the hymnal (using a variety of instruments and drum beats) and YouTube. Our church has WiFi so videos may be shown in addition to playing music.

We are here to follow Jesus and to bring his love to Bearwood

Young People

At Warley Woods we welcome children with open arms. We have a Sunday Club every week for 3 – 16 year olds and can provide a creche if needed. Good quality teaching is given, based on various Christian resources. Our teaching staff are experienced and dedicated and all have training in Safeguarding and possess DBS certificates.

The children join us in church for communion on the second Sunday of the month and remain in church on the third Sunday for our “all age” worship which is aimed at children.
Each summer and at Christmas, the Sunday Club lead our church worship. They also lead during the year if they have ideas they wish to share with the congregation.

In the foyer we have a box of toys for babies, and parents are free to choose the toys and play with their child in the foyer (which has a speaker to enable the service to be heard,) or in the church itself.

Members of our congregation take “Open the Book” into Abbey Primary School. This enables Christian stories to be narrated and acted out and includes the pupils who help tell each story through actions and words.

A “Stay & Play” group takes place each Wednesday from 9am to 10.30am during term time. Parents remain with their children and we provide toys, a music session, with instruments and singing and fruit, toast and a drink for both children and parents.
A new term for "Stay & Play" will begin on Wednesday 8th September from 9am to 10.30am

Brownies

14th Birmingham Brownies meet in our church hall.
Brownies have fun! They take part in indoor and outdoor activities that challenge them to do their best.
We are no longer able to accept direct requests to join our unit – you will need to apply through the “JOIN US” part of the Girlguiding UK website:- https://enquiryym.girlguiding.org.uk/

All groups will begin on Monday 13th September
Monday 5.30 to 6.30 pm Rainbows
Monday 6.00 to 7.30 pm Brownies
Monday 7.00 to 8.30 pm Guides
Monday 7.30 to 9 pm Rangers

Everyone who works with children and vulnerable adults has been through Safeguarding training and has a valid DBS certificate.

Weddings, Baptisms & Funerals

Our church is available for weddings, baptisms and funerals. Each of these services hold great significance to the individual families and it is our aim to make them as personal and stress free as possible. Our minister will lead the worship and he is able to act as registrar at the services.

The minister will meet with families and work with them to provide solutions to any requests that are made, with the help of church stewards.

We realise how important these services are to individuals and remember these words:-
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13 : 13)

Social Events & Community

Pastoral care is offered to all those connected to the church and the altar flowers are distributed after the service.
Holy Communion is administered at home to any housebound members.
All pastoral visitors hold DBS certificates.

As a church we have activities throughout the year to raise money for projects here and abroad, to which members of the community are invited. These include cream teas, puddings galore, musical concerts, coffee and tinsel and various sales.
We support Leprosy Mission, All We Can (emergency relief organisation), Action for Children and many other charities throughout the year..

A bi-monthly magazine called “Contact” is produced detailing services and church news.

Weekly news sheets are circulated via email or handed out at services.