Dear Sir,
Thank you for the article giving the background to the rebuilding of Lansdowne Baptist, Bournemouth (February The construction of the existing building 138 years ago by the membership was then very visionary. I agree the chapel does not seem to be very welcoming and suitable for today’s church. Think, though, of all those sacrificial gifts given to the Lord in 1877, so that it could be built.
I thought the article’s reference to the old chapel was unduly scathing, as I distinctly remember the Revd Francis’s Dixon’s ministry and his amazing world-wide distribution of the Lansdowne sermons every week. The sermons and teaching were very much appreciated by those who received the notes, including myself as a young Christian doing National Service in the RAF – the Lansdowne building evidently did not hinder the witness and outreach then!
This article raises an important issue for all who currently worship in Victorian chapels. What is a small congregation to do, meeting in a large, out of date building? How can they afford to do what the members of Lansdowne have done?
Lansdowne members have taken a step of faith to build a complex suitable for today’s church and for 21st-century outreach. But let us pray for small churches meeting in cold, difficult to be heated and maintained Victorian chapels. What do our readers think? Should rich churches in the UK be willing to assist financially those who would like to rebuild and hopefully expand? Perhaps small congregations could similarly take a step of faith, sell their buildings and rebuild a 21st-century replacement? With God all things are possible.
Yours sincerely,
