A CHURCH is branching out by launching a new congregation in Woodley – and one of the reasons was because they were running out of space in their Reading home.
Carey Baptist Church, which has been based in Carey Street since 1867, is now also meeting in Rivermead Primary School on Sunday mornings.
The services launched last month and are already attracting a steady stream of worshippers. They last around an hour and include activities for children up to Year 6. Refreshments are served after each meeting.
The church also runs meetings during the week, which is calls LIFEgroups. These are small gatherings and usually held in a member’s home.
The congregation is led by David Magowan, one of Carey’s pastors, and it follows in the footsteps of a similar plant in Tilehurst 11 years ago, and has been four years in the making.
He said: “Prior to covid we were aware that the congregation at Carey was continuing to grow and our chapel building was becoming increasingly full.
“Having planted previously in 2012, what is now Christchurch Tilehurst, we felt it was time to consider doing something similar but this time to the east of Reading.
“We had about 40 church members living in the Woodley area and so, in May 2019 we held a meeting at The Oakwood Centre to see what interest there was in planting a congregation in Woodley.
“Following that meeting we set up a midweek LIFEgroup in Woodley meeting twice a month in The Oakwood Centre. Then covid came and we moved all our meetings online and slowly over time returned to in-person meetings.”
The pandemic put a pause on their plans, and it wasn’t until this time last year the church’s leadership started to make plans for their new Woodley location.
“In January, a steering group comprising three couples was formed. We gathered a core group of interested people from Carey and began meeting monthly in February.”
Churches in the greater Reading and Wokingham areas are known for the way in which they work together, and there is a weekly prayer meeting for church leaders. So, it is no surprise that Carey reached out to other congregations in Woodley.
“We contacted other churches in Woodley to let them know about our plans,” Mr Magowan said.
“Rivermead Primary School on Addington Road, off Loddon Bridge Road, agreed the use of their premises and we held our first Sunday morning service there on September 17, starting at 10.30am.
“Over the past four weeks we have had 50 adults and 20 children and young people attending and we have set up three LIFEgroups meeting twice a month in local homes for Bible study and prayer.”
Mr Magowan said the services are open to everyone.
“Our services are accessible and quite informal, and all are welcome, whether Christians not attending another church presently, or people who are exploring the Christian faith,” he said.
The church has set up a dedicated website for its Woodley branch. For more details, log on to: www.careywoodley.org.uk
