Taking a couple of weeks break from "Jersey As It Is", here's the second of two parts of the history of the Jersey Baptist Church.
An Historical Sketch of the Jersey Baptist Church – Part 2
1903
On 1st January 1903 Mr. Alfred Benest passed away. It was in his house that the Church had been formed in 1864 and he had served it faithfully ever since.
1914
In August 1914 the membership of the Rev. W.D. Reynolds, B.A., B.D., was transferred from Beckenham so that he could serve as a special representative of the Jersey Baptist Church at Matadi in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) where he was the Principal of a training college for African preachers and pastors. The Jubilee of the Church was held in the autumn of the same year but rather quietly due to the tragic outbreak of the First World War.
1920
The Grove Street premises were sold to the Oddfellows Friendly Society in 1920 for £600 and two years later a manse was purchased at a cost of £1,000, the Baptist Building Fund lending £500 free of interest.
1930
1903
On 1st January 1903 Mr. Alfred Benest passed away. It was in his house that the Church had been formed in 1864 and he had served it faithfully ever since.
1914
In August 1914 the membership of the Rev. W.D. Reynolds, B.A., B.D., was transferred from Beckenham so that he could serve as a special representative of the Jersey Baptist Church at Matadi in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) where he was the Principal of a training college for African preachers and pastors. The Jubilee of the Church was held in the autumn of the same year but rather quietly due to the tragic outbreak of the First World War.
1920
The Grove Street premises were sold to the Oddfellows Friendly Society in 1920 for £600 and two years later a manse was purchased at a cost of £1,000, the Baptist Building Fund lending £500 free of interest.
1930
The Revd. S.J. Smurthwaite was appointed in 1930 and served the Church faithfully for nineteen years until his retirement in 1949.
Mr. Smurthwaite's ministry included the five years of German occupation (1940-1945) which followed the fall of France in the Second World War. During the occupation, when the Channel Islands were completely cut off from the mainland of Great Britain, the Jersey Baptists, in common with other islanders, suffered many privations but nevertheless continued to meet regularly for worship and fellowship, and continued to save money for the Baptist Missionary Society. Because of the difficulty of 'blacking-out' and heating the main Church building many of the services were held in the school hall.
1945
Following the liberation of the Island in 1945 it was decided to allocate £50 of the Thank offering to the Baptist Union's Fund for the re-building of bombed churches in the United Kingdom. The money reserved for the B.M.S. was also sent to England.
1949
The old Manse in St. Mark's Road-was sold in 1949 and the present Manse at Millais Park was purchased for the sum of £3,600.
1960
The Baptist work and witness suffered some losses during and after the German Occupation and from 1960 the Church was helped by the Baptist Union Home Work Fund but happily became self-supporting again in 1968.
The Rev. Clifford Measday, A.R.I.B.A. commenced his ministry in 1963 and under his guidance the first alterations and internal decorations to the main church building since 1927 were carried out. The building was re-opened for worship in 1964, the Centenary Year of the Church and in the following year the fellowship gratefully accepted the anonymous gift of a new electronic organ.
The active membership gradually more and, looking to the Risen Lord for help and wisdom, took fresh heart.
1967
A valedictory service was held on 2nd September 1967 for Miss-Marion Furzer, a Church member who had been called to serve as a nurse with The Leprosy Mission at Purulia in India.
In 1965 the Church had become aware of the poor nature of their Church Halls and through a gift from a group of interested ladies in the Baptist Churches in New Jersey, in the United States of America, decided to commence a re-building fund.
1970
The Church invited the Minister, a registered architect, to design new halls and these were opened on the 5th September 1970 by his wife, Mrs. Doreen Measday. The rebuilding marked a significant step in the work of the Baptist Church in Jersey.
Through the earnest prayers of the fellowship the giving was remarkable, the sum of £14,000 being raised in the short space of six years. Many friends in Jersey, on the mainland and overseas gave generously and the Church was also grateful to the Southern Baptist Association Assembly for being recommended as the Chapel Case for 1971, the sum of £688 being received.
1973
At a Church meeting in May 1973 it was decided that the Church would 'twin' with a French Baptist Church at Vitry-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris. For several years this small fellowship had met and worshipped in a house in which also its Pastor, the Rev. Georges Bonneau and his wife lived, but they were now engaged in the erection of a large modern church building. The friends and members of the Jersey fellowship not only upheld the new venture in their prayers but gave practical help with the building work and financial support by means of the Thank-offering and other gifts.
1974
Rev. Measday was invited to speak at the official opening of the new building in May 1974, several friends and members of the Jersey Church were also present for the occasion.
On the 3rd June 1973 a valedictory service was held for Church member Miss Anne Agnes, prior to her departure for Africa where she was to serve for eighteen months as a missionary nurse in the Southern Sudan. On the 15th September 1974 another was held for two more members, the Rev. Robin Agnes, brother of Anne, and his wife Eileen who had been called to serve with the Belgian Evangelical Mission.
The Jersey Church undertook to provide full financial support for Anne whilst she was serving in Africa and now contributes to the support of Robin who is the Pastor of a small evangelical fellowship at Grivegnee, near Liege, in Belgium.
At the Southern Baptist Association Assembly in May 1974 Mr. Measday formally invited the Association to hold its 151st Annual Assembly in the Channel Islands in 1975. As a result of this invitation the Jersey and Guernsey Baptist Churches will this year be acting as hosts to 150 Officers, Ministers, Delegates and Personal Members of the S.B.A. It will be the first occasion in the history of the S.B.A. that an assembly has been held in the Islands.
In 1889 when the Rev. C.A. Fellowes wrote a 25-year-old history of the Church, he chose the text from 1 Samuel 7: 12 as being the essence of their convictions at that time, 'Hitherto the Lord hath helped us'. We too can think of no better Scripture to close this brief historical note.
May 1975
Ministers of the Jersey Baptist Church
1865-1867 Revd..F.F. Metcalf
1867 Revd. George Sheppard
1868 Revd. H.B. Bardwell
1868-1869 Revd. B.J. Holland
1870-1874 Revd. George Hider
1874-1875 Revd. Joseph Hawkes
1875-1878 Revd. George Weatherley
1879-1880 Revd. F. Johnson
1880-1885 Revd. Henry Wallace
1886-1895 Revd. C.A. Fellowes
1896-1901 Revd. William Boneer
1901-1905 Revd. Gwynne Thomas
1905-1911 Revd. Dr. J.A. Monk
1911-1921 Revd. Wilson Haffenden
1921-1929 Revd. Grimshaw Binns
1930-1949 Revd. S.J. Smurthwaite
1949-1954 Revd. B.H. Carpenter
1955-1958 Revd. W.G. Davis
1958-1962 Revd. W.G. Leggasick
1963-. Revd. Clifford M. Measday
Mr. Smurthwaite's ministry included the five years of German occupation (1940-1945) which followed the fall of France in the Second World War. During the occupation, when the Channel Islands were completely cut off from the mainland of Great Britain, the Jersey Baptists, in common with other islanders, suffered many privations but nevertheless continued to meet regularly for worship and fellowship, and continued to save money for the Baptist Missionary Society. Because of the difficulty of 'blacking-out' and heating the main Church building many of the services were held in the school hall.
1945
Following the liberation of the Island in 1945 it was decided to allocate £50 of the Thank offering to the Baptist Union's Fund for the re-building of bombed churches in the United Kingdom. The money reserved for the B.M.S. was also sent to England.
1949
The old Manse in St. Mark's Road-was sold in 1949 and the present Manse at Millais Park was purchased for the sum of £3,600.
1960
The Baptist work and witness suffered some losses during and after the German Occupation and from 1960 the Church was helped by the Baptist Union Home Work Fund but happily became self-supporting again in 1968.
The Rev. Clifford Measday, A.R.I.B.A. commenced his ministry in 1963 and under his guidance the first alterations and internal decorations to the main church building since 1927 were carried out. The building was re-opened for worship in 1964, the Centenary Year of the Church and in the following year the fellowship gratefully accepted the anonymous gift of a new electronic organ.
The active membership gradually more and, looking to the Risen Lord for help and wisdom, took fresh heart.
1967
A valedictory service was held on 2nd September 1967 for Miss-Marion Furzer, a Church member who had been called to serve as a nurse with The Leprosy Mission at Purulia in India.
In 1965 the Church had become aware of the poor nature of their Church Halls and through a gift from a group of interested ladies in the Baptist Churches in New Jersey, in the United States of America, decided to commence a re-building fund.
1970
The Church invited the Minister, a registered architect, to design new halls and these were opened on the 5th September 1970 by his wife, Mrs. Doreen Measday. The rebuilding marked a significant step in the work of the Baptist Church in Jersey.
Through the earnest prayers of the fellowship the giving was remarkable, the sum of £14,000 being raised in the short space of six years. Many friends in Jersey, on the mainland and overseas gave generously and the Church was also grateful to the Southern Baptist Association Assembly for being recommended as the Chapel Case for 1971, the sum of £688 being received.
1973
At a Church meeting in May 1973 it was decided that the Church would 'twin' with a French Baptist Church at Vitry-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris. For several years this small fellowship had met and worshipped in a house in which also its Pastor, the Rev. Georges Bonneau and his wife lived, but they were now engaged in the erection of a large modern church building. The friends and members of the Jersey fellowship not only upheld the new venture in their prayers but gave practical help with the building work and financial support by means of the Thank-offering and other gifts.
1974
Rev. Measday was invited to speak at the official opening of the new building in May 1974, several friends and members of the Jersey Church were also present for the occasion.
On the 3rd June 1973 a valedictory service was held for Church member Miss Anne Agnes, prior to her departure for Africa where she was to serve for eighteen months as a missionary nurse in the Southern Sudan. On the 15th September 1974 another was held for two more members, the Rev. Robin Agnes, brother of Anne, and his wife Eileen who had been called to serve with the Belgian Evangelical Mission.
The Jersey Church undertook to provide full financial support for Anne whilst she was serving in Africa and now contributes to the support of Robin who is the Pastor of a small evangelical fellowship at Grivegnee, near Liege, in Belgium.
At the Southern Baptist Association Assembly in May 1974 Mr. Measday formally invited the Association to hold its 151st Annual Assembly in the Channel Islands in 1975. As a result of this invitation the Jersey and Guernsey Baptist Churches will this year be acting as hosts to 150 Officers, Ministers, Delegates and Personal Members of the S.B.A. It will be the first occasion in the history of the S.B.A. that an assembly has been held in the Islands.
In 1889 when the Rev. C.A. Fellowes wrote a 25-year-old history of the Church, he chose the text from 1 Samuel 7: 12 as being the essence of their convictions at that time, 'Hitherto the Lord hath helped us'. We too can think of no better Scripture to close this brief historical note.
May 1975
Ministers of the Jersey Baptist Church
1865-1867 Revd..F.F. Metcalf
1867 Revd. George Sheppard
1868 Revd. H.B. Bardwell
1868-1869 Revd. B.J. Holland
1870-1874 Revd. George Hider
1874-1875 Revd. Joseph Hawkes
1875-1878 Revd. George Weatherley
1879-1880 Revd. F. Johnson
1880-1885 Revd. Henry Wallace
1886-1895 Revd. C.A. Fellowes
1896-1901 Revd. William Boneer
1901-1905 Revd. Gwynne Thomas
1905-1911 Revd. Dr. J.A. Monk
1911-1921 Revd. Wilson Haffenden
1921-1929 Revd. Grimshaw Binns
1930-1949 Revd. S.J. Smurthwaite
1949-1954 Revd. B.H. Carpenter
1955-1958 Revd. W.G. Davis
1958-1962 Revd. W.G. Leggasick
1963-. Revd. Clifford M. Measday
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