Minister: Rev. Charles ILunga: 0756 444 1416
Email: charles.ilunga@methodist.org.uk
Church Address: Normanton Street, Forest Hill, LONDON, SE23 2DS
Telephone: 0208 291 6996
Office: admin@foresthillmethodistchurch.org
open 9.30am – 1.30pm Tuesday – Friday
Website: www.foresthillmethodistchurch.org
Email for all enquiries: admin@foresthillmethodistchurch.org
Church Profile:
The original church in Forest Hill dates back to 1856. A ‘Central Methodist Church’ was erected on the South Circular (A205) in 1913 and, after amalgamation with two other churches it became Forest Hill Methodist Church. In 1926, the Trustees, by means of gifts and loans from their own pockets, bought a piece of land to be used as a sports club in an effort to “hold young people”. It took 36 years to pay off the loans, and was a significant act of faith by all concerned. In the mid-1990s the sports club finally closed, so the church was left with a plot of land on Normanton Street that rapidly fell into disuse. At the same time the building on the South Circular found itself surrounded by light industries and in need of extensive modernisation, so the decision was made to sell the Church and apply for permission to build a new church on the disused sports ground.
Once the Church was sold we were able to rent the Hope Centre in Waldram Park Road (behind the fire station in Stanstead Road) for Sunday morning services and other activities until our new Church building was ready for us to take over. After eight years of difficult negotiations with the local council, permission was obtained and part of the land in Normanton Street was sold for public housing.
In October 2003 planning permission was finally obtained, to a great deal of rejoicing. In 2007 we became owners of fairly large premises in the heart of a growing residential community. The premises were named ‘Forest Hill Methodist Church and Centre’ in hope of numerous community activities to come. Those hopes have been more than fulfilled. As well as the Chapel which is the heart of the building, there are two large halls, smaller meeting rooms and an office that is open four days a week 09.30-1.30. The building is fully accessible and comfortable for all ages of worshippers and other users, we are pleased to welcome everyone to our Services and Events.
Some of the stained glass windows remembering members who died in the 2nd World War were brought from the old church and installed in the new one. We also brought along the old wooden cross even though we also had a shiny new one.
Unlike many churches, Forest Hill Methodist Church is in a modern building on an otherwise residential street. One of the concerns when considering development of the site at Normanton Street was whether it would not be too out of the way. Thankfully that has proved not to be the case. There is a tennis court/five-a-side football pitch to the left of the entrance gate which is used by the congregation, young and old, for outdoor activities, also by Perrymount School children as an extended play space. We are very lucky to have a few parking spaces within the grounds and free parking in nearby roads which makes our premises more accessible for the wider Community. The spacious gardens, regularly maintained by members of our Church, provide a beautiful reflective space for the congregation and a calm socialising area for the Community.
The congregation is very diverse, with people originating from all over the world, as depicted by the multi-coloured wall in the Cloister area of the building. Like many other churches in this country we are facing a lot of challenges nowadays, we are working and praying that a way will be found to attract more worshippers coming especially young people.
Due to the initial building problem of our new Church, major remedial work needs to be carried out. Under the current building condition we are not able to open as normal. At this moment we only hold limited Church activities mainly Sunday services and accommodate occasional external groups. We hope this work will be completed soon so we can return to the aspiration of our Church – the Church in the Community.
Church Services at 11am on Sunday
All Age Worship on the 1st Sunday and Holy Communion usually on the 3rd Sunday.
