The Birth of Christchurch
When plans for a new housing development in Llanedeyrn were announced, Albany Road Baptist Church challenged the Roath Park Council of Churches to plan for a United Church in the area. They were convinced that such a Church should be in place as soon as possible so that new residents could be welcomed by the Church as soon as they arrived.
With the Roath Park Council of Churches unable to act, Albany Road, being a Baptist Church, and therefore not centrally governed, went ahead independently to put in place plans for a Church in Llanedeyrn. They applied for one of three sites on the estate earmarked for Church use, challenged their members, living within the vicinity of the new estate, to leave Albany Road and form the nucleus of the new congregation. So, Christchurch began in 1967 with a small congregation of some twenty of so people worshipping on Sunday mornings in St. Teilo’s Church in Wales School Hall, on the edge of the new development.
A site at Wellwood was chosen and building on the site began in the late summer of 1968. By May 1969 the new Hall was ready and it was opened on May 10th 1969. The photo below shows The Revd. Graham Davies, Christchurch’s first Minister, holding an umbrella over Mr. Norman Plummer, Chairman of the Cardiff Baptist Board, as he presents the key to The Revd. Dr. W. J. Grant, President of the Baptist Union. The Revd. Trevor Thorn smiles through the rain, and the Revd. Dr. J. Ithel Jones, Principal of the S. Wales Baptist College, is kept dry before he preaches at the opening service.
The congregation had committed themselves to completing the building of the church and in the summer of 1976 the builders moved in. In March 1977 the new building was opened. On Sunday morning, March 6th, 1977, family worship began in the hall and then the congregation walked into the new church to complete the service.
Albany Road believed that not only should the Church be in the area from the beginning but that it should have a full time Minister. As the whole of the funding for ministry was coming from the Baptist Union, through an initial pastorate grant, the Minister had to be Baptist. However they were determined to look for a person who was sympathetic to an ecumenical expression of the new Church’s life, because of their belief, that denominational divisions made no sense in a new area and would be a betrayal of the Church’s mission to affirm that in Christ all things are reconciled.
How Christchurch has grown
From the very beginning the congregation at what became known as ‘Christchurch United Church’, continued to appeal to the other denominations to join them. The Church in Wales responded positively and for four years the Curate at All Saints, Cyncoed worked in partnership with the Minister at Christchurch. They shared Sunday Services of Worship alternating between the Free Church and Anglican Liturgies. Christchurch concentrated on involving the other Free Church Leaders in what they were trying to achieve. This took several years of prolonged and sometimes painful debate, but eventually it was agreed that the Minister at Christchurch should be Recognised and Regarded as a Methodist Minister and the Church accepted as part of the circuit.
This relationship was strengthened in 1994 when the local churches, made up of the Benefice Churches of the Church in Wales (All Saints, Cyncoed, All Saints, Llanedeyrn, and St Edeyrns), together with Cyncoed Methodist Church, St David’s Ecumenical Church, Pentwyn and Christchurch United Church, entered into a local covenant under the auspices of ‘Churches Together’. This was strengthened with the opening of the new Community Church on a new estate at Pontprennau supported by all the local churches involved in the Covenant.
Christchurch in an Ecumenical Partnership
The Churches mentioned above, together with the Methodist Church at Rumney, Anglican Churches at St Mellon’s and Llanrumney, together with the newly formed ecumenical church at the new St Mellon’s Estate continued to meet and discuss the best way forward. In June 2005, the New Cardiff East Local Ecumenical Partnership was affirmed and celebrated. Within the partnership, the clergy and ministers work as a team, meeting each week for prayer and planning. Regular United services are held, especially to celebrate the various Festivals throughout the year. The Church is also a member and strongly committed to the Covenanted Churches in Wales, Enfys. Continued dialogue continues to take place with the various Church leaders to discover where God may be leading us in this direction.
Christchurch Marks a Milestone
2017 proved a year of celebration as the church celebrated its fiftieth birthday with a series of special services and events. To launch the anniversary year, two tapestries were unveiled in January, one prepared by the Ladies Circle, the other by the Junior Church/Youth Club.
In February, a Cymanfa Ganu was held, featuring a specially chosen collection of hymns and Welsh melodies. There was also be an opportunity for friends, members, and attenders, both past and present, to enjoy fellowship at a reunion tea after the Cymanfa, in the church hall.
An anniversary lunch was enjoyed in March, in the company of current and past members, friends of the church, and its three past ministers, Revd Graham Davies, Revd. Michael Cleaves and Revd. Rhiannon Francis.
May and June included visits to several ‘Secret Christchurch Gardens’, as well as a vintage afternoon tea at the church.
The climax of the year was the Golden Anniversary Weekend at the start of September. It included a quiz evening, barbecue, and an exhibition of church memorabilia. On the Saturday evening, a concert, featuring Dowlais Male Choir and Cathays Brass took place. It was a very special evening of music and song, and raised, through its retiring collection, over £1,000 for local charities.
The 50th Anniversary Service on the Sunday morning, when the church was beautifully decorated with a feast of golden flowers, included the unveiling of the Anniversary Quilt, a collage of photographs of current members and attenders, and the planting of the Anniversary Tree in the church grounds. The weekend drew to a close with a Songs of Praise service on the Sunday evening.
As the anniversary year approached its end, the church held a Christmas Tree Festival. Groups attached to the church in any way provided and decorated a tree, either representing their organisation/activity or decorated in gold for the 50th Anniversary.
The last event of the year was a candlelit service of Lessons and Carols, preceded by an afternoon tea of seasonal savouries and cakes.
After a busy year of celebration, the church looks forward, with anticipation, to the next chapter of its life!