About Woodhouse Close Church
We are a local ecumenical partnership: Anglicans and Methodists together, worshipping alongside the friends from the United Reformed Church.
Our building was built by the Methodist Church and
opened in 1962, providing a spiritual need on a post-war
housing estate. When a nearby Anglican Church closed,
the congregation began sharing the building. In 1971
the people came together as a single-congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership. From 1978 we have had a full-time licensed priest and two authorised Pastoral Ministers.
Our Team
“Revd David Payne took up the appointment as Methodist Minister with pastoral responsibility for Woodhouse Close Church on 1st September 2020 when he became Superintendent Minister of the Bishop Auckland & Shildon Methodist Circuit.
He arrived in the area following almost 14 years service as a hospital chaplain in the NHS. The last 5 years of this time were spent as Chaplaincy Team Leader with Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to that he was a Methodist Circuit Minister from September 1995 and this followed an initial career in banking after leaving school.”
Activities
Messy Church:
2nd Monday of every month from 3:30pm
3:30pm – Arrival and Games
3:40pm – The Bible Story
4:00pm – Crafts
4:30pm – Songs and Prayers
5:00pm – Food for All
Services
Sunday worship 10:00AM except 4th Sunday in each month 9:30AM.
We are pleased to arrange christenings both for children and adults, weddings and funerals in a modern, relaxed and friendly church.
Our Partnerships
We work in partnership with many other organisations, both statutory and voluntary and at local, regional, national and international levels to enable us to fulfil our Christian mission. We work especially closely with the Woodhouse Community Centre which is based in the Church building but is an entirely independent charity in its own right. However over the years the Church and Community Centre have become accepted as somewhere safe and welcoming.
Woodhouse Close Church is part of the Bishop Auckland Fellowship of Christian Churches.
