Address & Contact
St Andrews Methodist Church
16 Church Street
Coxhoe
Durham
DH6 4DD
Minister Name: Rev. Sally Coleman
About
Coxhoe is situated on the B6291 road, about 1 mile south of Junction 61 of the A1(M) Motorway. The church is located almost directly opposite the Village Hall.
The St. Andrew’s society is the direct result of a merger in September 1964, between two existing Methodist Churches.
For some years, St. Andrew’s continued to utilise the old Wesleyan Chapel premises, but, in October 2007, a new building was formally dedicated.
We make everyone feel welcome as well as offering outreach to the local community.
Services
Usually 10:30am on first and third Sunday
Please check Circuit Plan for individual church service dates and times
Monthly Shoppers Service – see plan for details
Open to everyone Shoppers services are user friendly intended to supplement rather than replace the Church regular Sunday service. The Church regards them as particularly attractive to those who, for one reason or another, find the normal pattern of Sunday worship unsuitable to their needs and because shopper’s services last only 30 minutes these are particularly attractive to those whose free time is limited. Over the years the Church has noticed a steady increase in their popularity, and believes that this comfortable relaxing atmosphere is meeting a real need in the Village. A different guest speaker is invited to each monthly service.
Weekly Activities
Saturday
9.30 am to 11.00 am. : Coffee Mornings are held alternative Saturdays of each month
Coffee mornings started here in St. Andrews approximately 60 years ago. In the late 60s/70s the numbers attending on a Saturday morning increased so we moved from the Primary room into our larger schoolroom. These coffee mornings, we feel, is another way of the church reaching out to the community. people attending share a coffee and friendship in a informal happy noisy atmosphere and spread the Christian message From these mornings, Loyal attendees support us in our endeavours to keep methodism alive in Coxhoe.
Apart from Sunday and Saturday services, we hold various events throughout the year raising funds to help with the up keep of the Church.
Weddings
To book a wedding between a woman or a man, or any two people, please contact the Minister or Circuit Administrator.
Brief History
Methodism in Coxhoe.
Methodism has been a part of Coxhoe village life for 181 years. it was in June 1837 that the first weekly recorded Primitive Methodist preaching services began. by September 1838, numbers had risen to 35 and they needed to find larger premises.
The following year they found them. They bought two, cottages in Foundry Row for £214.11s.0d. Attendance at the Sunday worship was in the region of 300. Imagine -300 people crowded together into a couple of cottages. They desperately needed larger premises. So, at Easter 1865, the foundations were laid for a new chapel, due to be opened later that year. Unfortunately, the opening was delayed, and they couldn’t move in until the following year, 1866.
Meanwhile, the other Methodist group, the Wesleyans, hadn’t been idle. Traditionally more affluent than the ‘Prims’, they built, their first chapel at Wesley Place in 1840. The building is still there. They worshipped there for some 30 years, until they opened their new chapel on the site in the front street in 1872. It cost about £800 and accommodated almost 500 worshippers.
We jump to 1932. That year, the main branches of British Methodism were brought together to form one – The Methodist Church. here in Coxhoe, Methodist Union was celebrated on Saturday, 1st October 1932, with special services in both the Primitive and Wesleyan Methodist churches. however, it took more than 30 years before the two chapels merged. At a joint meeting, on 16th May 1964, they finally decided to amalgamate, (then named Central and St. John’s) merged to form St. Andrew’s. The first Sunday Service in the newly created St. Andrew’ Methodist Church was held on Sunday, 6th September 1964.
Moving forward to late .90s and early 2000s we had to make the decision to build a new Church. The new Church would be on the same site. On 12th January 2003 a final service was held, conducted by the then Minister Revd Kevin Ridd. After the church was demolished, we moved into the Schoolroom. Where we continued with our fund raising and Worship. During which time we added to our congregation. After much hard work, blood, sweat and tears and tremendous support from the village people we finally were able to move into our new Worship area. A service of Dedication, conducted by the then Chairman of the District, Revd Graham Carter in October 2007.