It was a sad day when, after 187 years of services, both Upton and Blewbury Methodist Churches closed on April 14th, but at the same time we (the church members) were glad that our final services were so well supported. The last full service for Upton was on Easter Sunday, a Communion Service led by our minister, Rev Richard Bittleston. It was well supported by regular attendees and visitors to the village, and Upton chapel was completely full for the short service there on Sunday 14th April. Rev Bittleston wanted to emphasise that Blewbury and Upton Methodist churches had combined 3 years ago to become one church, the Spring Line Church. So we started with a short service in Upton, then many of us walked to Blewbury along the old footpath to continue the service at Blewbury chapel.

Members of Blewbury Brass Band volunteered to play at the Blewbury service (very fitting, because one of the founders of the Band was a Methodist local preacher and chapel trustee for 35 years). The chapel was full to overflowing and the singing raised the roof. Richard asked us not to feel sad at the closure of the chapels but to remember everything they had done in the past, in particular revolutionising the Victorian attitude to children’s education by building their chapels with a school room. Methodism thrived in Oxfordshire Villages through the two world wars, but times have changed and the number of members has fallen, so we have to accept that it is time to move on. “Even as we let go of these cherished places, God remains with us”

For those who wish to continue to attend Methodist Church services the nearest churches are in Didcot and Wallingford, or if you prefer to attend a smaller chapel, the nearest is in Milton village. See www.wantageandabingdoncircuit.org.uk/ for details of services.

We would like to thank everyone in the community who has used our buildings in the past few years – your financial support enabled us to continue as long as we have.

Members of the Spring Line Church

Our Final Service – 14th April 2013 The main service will be at 6.00 pm at Blewbury Chapel Preacher – Rev Richard Bittleston

Spring Line – Celebrating its life and witness

The last Church Council meeting of the members of the Spring Line Methodist church was held at Upton Chapel on 5^th February 2013. We decided on the arrangements for the final celebrations of its witness.

Easter Sunday: there will be a final service with communion at 10.30 at Upton Methodist Chapel on March 31st.

The very Final (Circuit*) service is to be held on Sunday 14^th April 2013. The main service will be in the Blewbury chapel at 6.00pm, but – for those who wish to – the minister Revd. Richard Bittleston will lead a short closing liturgy at Upton Chapel at 4:45pm and then walk (weather permitting) to Blewbury. Anyone who would like to join him will be most welcome. We will bring something from Upton to the Blewbury service; a symbol of the bond of fellowship that has been shared between the churches.

Please join with us, you will be most welcome.

Although there is real sadness that buildings close, there is joy that Spring Line members will continue to serve God in other churches as they move on, to Milton, Childrey and other local village churches.

Revd. Richard Bittleston

*Circuit is the Methodist name for our group of local churches – Didcot, Wantage and Abingdon, together with the surrounding village churches. Members of these churches will be joining us for the service on April 14th, but we also hope that people from Blewbury and Upton will join us at either chapel.

Spring Line Methodist Church

Special Service

January 20th: Our Annual Covenant Service – an opportunity for us all to think about God’s promises to us, and our promises to him, and to renew those promises we have made to live as God’s people – we invite you to join us.

Nativity Service with St Michael’s Sunday School

We were delighted that St. Michael’s Sunday School again held their Nativity Service in the Blewbury Centre. The church was packed, the children’s nativity play was charming and the offering raised £213 for the Save the Children Charity.

Closure

As you read this, the Spring Line Methodist church will have celebrated its last ever Carol Service. Preparations for the closure of both Upton and Blewbury churches are in hand (to be marked at services over Easter 2013). It’s a time tinged with sadness; but also blessed in the realisation that Christian witness has always been about dying and rising again. Churches (especially village churches) are closing across the country now; it’s easy to feel that this is a mark of failure – loss yes, but failure, no.

So much has been put in place over the lifetime of these churches; society has been transformed by their presence. They came into existence when we had no NHS, no welfare state; in a time when education was selective, for the few. They were planted with a job to do – and that job has been done. They challenged society to embed Christian principles and they have done that. In a very profound way, the closing of churches is a mark that says ‘job well done’.

We chose to close at Easter because that is the time when we acknowledge the need to ‘die to rise again’. How that takes place is in the hands of the creative force that sits behind all this. It is yet to be revealed; but it will happen. (I write this as a person who lives in a Methodist chapel, closed and converted into a place that continues to breathe its heritage in a most unexpected way)

Join us as we give thanks for the Christmas Present, the miracles that are Upton and Blewbury and let’s all realise that – without the energy that has been held in these places – life would be that much poorer.

Richard Bittleston, Minister for the Spring Line Church

Worship will end at both Blewbury and Upton Methodist Churches (both Centres of the Spring Line Church) at Easter 2013. It may seem very early to make this decision public, but closure of a church takes a long time. This decision was taken by the Spring Line members at their February Church Council Meeting, and was approved by the Methodist Circuit (South Oxfordshire group of Methodist churches) meeting in mid-March, so it is now official.

As you can imagine this has not been an easy decision and there are many heavy hearts. We are very clear, however, that sometimes being faithful means moving on and what has served well in the past is not necessarily right in the present. There are two reasons for making the decision to close both churches: the number of regular worshipers at our Upton Centre is low, and in spite of support from the Community the Spring Line Church is not financially viable. We would be in the position of having to ask for financial support from the Methodist Church if we carry on beyond spring 2013, and this did not seem right, so we have decided to move on and to support other churches. The next 12 months will enable us to make all the preparations we need for the change: practically, emotionally and spiritually.

We would like to thank the Community for responding to our plea for more Community Use over the last 12 months, and hope you will continue to use our buildings until the closure date. The actual process of closing the church and decisions about the future of the two buildings is undertaken by the Wantage and Abingdon Circuit, not by Spring Line Church members.

Jo Lakeland

Possibilities?

I love experimenting. Before I was a minister, I was a research scientist – research scientists are essentially children, curious and very interested in ‘possibility’

It was in that vein that I decided to build myself a solar based power system; it now sits on the roof of my workshop.

When I built it, the winter days were short and it already produced enough energy to power a few lights, my study and a TV. As spring sets the pace, there is more power available each day. This contribution is written on a ‘solar powered computer’.

We had a power failure the other day and we were the only house in Steventon with a full reserve of alternative energy. The lights stayed on – so did the heating. Anne, my lovely wife, didn’t even know that there was a power failure! I am convinced that humanity has ‘possibility’ built in – this is the God nature in all of us.

Richard Bittleston (Minister for the Spring Line Methodist Church)

A reminder to church members that the next meeting of the Spring Line Methodist Church Council will take place on Wednesday 16th February 2011 at 7.30 pm at the Upton Centre. Anyone interested in the running of the chapel is invited to attend.

Our Annual Covenant Service – Sunday 16th January at 10.30 in Blewbury Methodist Chapel 

Renewal and recommitting ourselves is quite a powerful and enabling process. It’s not confined to any single religion or even to religion at all. Every New Year has its resolutions – and surely they’re recommitment and renewal. I’m not a Methodist, so I had to learn about the Methodist covenant service when I became the Spring Line Minister. In my URC tradition there are commissioning services – where we acknowledge our call to service in different ways, but the passionate covenant service belongs to the deeply moving preacher that is John Wesley. To read his personal commitment to the covenant he made himself is to be ‘warmed’, to renew the same within oneself.

When the Spring Line Methodist Church (Blewbury and Upton) meets to experience this covenant service on the 16th January – we will find ourselves caught up in a resolve to deepen our understanding, and our intent to locate God each and every day. The words may have been written some time ago, but the renewal is very much in the present. It’s a great service (I may add a little of the Reformed palette to the morning – Luther and Calvin had passion too).

That’s what we’ll be up to – you are welcome to join us. I finish where I began – this is a powerful and enabling process which is not confined to a single tradition.

Richard Bittleston, Minister for the Spring Line Church

Christmas Services: There are services at Didcot Methodist Church at 11.30 am on Christmas Eve and 10.30 am on Christmas Day.

Carol Service: Our Carol Service is at 3.00 pm on Sunday 19 December at the Blewbury Centre. Members of St Michael’s Church choir are joining us, and there will be coffee and mince pies afterwards. We will be delighted to welcome anyone in the villages who wants to join us. Listen to the choir and sing some of your favourite carols.

Christmas Greetings

Finally, we would like to thank all the people and organisations who have used the Church Hall at Upton Chapel in the last year. This includes the Table Tennis Club, Guides and Brownies, Drop In, Dog Trainers, Morris Dancers and the Village Produce Association. Your generous donations enable this small Methodist Congregation to continue to worship in Upton and Blewbury. God bless you all, and a Happy Christmas from the members of the Spring Line Methodist Church.

Jo Lakeland

A country parson!

There is more than a little of the romantic in me and the chance to share Christian witness in a different setting greatly appeals to me. My ministry to date has always been in large churches and fairly city central. Even becoming the minister at Trinity in Abingdon felt like a step away from the busy world. I’m looking forward to the friendship, the fellowship and sharing a pace which is so rare in the urban settings – a time for God. If we find time for that in our ministry together – it will be a good time. We said our official hello at the Harvest Festival. It will take a while to juggle things to make the right spaces, but that’s part of the fun and the challenge. I’m not planning on buying a horse though – just a bit too romantic an image!

Richard Bittleston, Minister for Spring Line Church

Our previous minister, Rev. Helen White, moved on to her new position in Derbyshire at the end of July, and the plan was that we would welcome our new minister in September. But the plan changed, and the Rev. Richard Bittleston has only recently become the local Minister in the Wantage and Abingdon Circuit who has pastoral charge of the Spring Line Church. Richard has been Minister of Trinity Abingdon since June 2008. Trinity is a joint United Reform / Methodist church within the Church in Abingdon, so he has responsibilities within both the URC and Methodist churches. We are especially pleased to welcome Richard because he plays the organ, which means that occasionally we will have live instead of electronic music at our services!

Jo Lakeland