Hall Lane Methodist Church

Hall Lane Methodist Church is a relatively modern building which benefits from good access to anyone who is infirm, with a ramp at the front entrance to aid wheelchair users. The only steps inside the church building lead onto the stage and one step into the sanctuary.

There are fully equipped toilet facilities for wheelchair users, a baby changing area and a defibrillator installed. Our large kitchen has been refurbished and has modern facilities including a dishwasher. We can cater for up to 45 people when serving hot meals. The stage is the same width as the church and approx 4 meters deep. The velvet curtains and spotlights make any performance a special occasion. There is a sizeable screen available for use with our digital projector or for showing slide shows in our main hall and another fixed screen in our small community room.

We have a large car park adjacent to the church building with a dropped kerb to aid wheelchair users. There is also a large grass area which is used for summer fairs and outdoor services.

Hall Lane Methodist Church was built in 1967 to serve new housing that was being built in the area. The building has changed over the years and has been extended and improved to meet the needs of our growing congregation and the work that we feel called to carry out in the name of Jesus.

The original porch was where the disabled toilet is now (the foundation stone can still be seen in there). The present porch was built on the front corner of the building, where it remains, and the old porch was then used as a vestry before the disabled toilet was installed.

The Community Room (formally named after 'Louie' - Louisa Richardson, a founder member of the church) was then added which has been a great boon and is used constantly.

The church originally had a flat roof which had always caused problems with rain penetration into the building. We spent endless money rebuilding the parapet and patching the felt flashings, and eventually bit the bullet and decided to replace the flat roof with a pitched roof. This has been a great success and altered the appearance of the church completely.

To provide facilities for visitors with access needs, the vestry was converted to a toilet, a ramp was built to the main entrance and an induction loop and microphones installed in the church itself and the Community Room.

During 2011 our ladies, gents and disabled toilets were refurbished bringing them up to date and up to a high standard.

In 2020 we started our journey to becoming carbon neutral by replacing all our lighting throughout the building to LED.

In 2021 we invested in resurfacing our car park including improving our drainage.

1967 The Church was opened by Mr Albert Bailey Vice President of Conference

1966 Rev Trevor Lockwood
1970 Rev David Clark
1975 Rev Christopher Edwards
1982 Rev William Wathes
1991 Rev Peter Phillips
1995 Rev William Tointon
1996 Rev John Adams
2003 Rev Drummond Gillespie
2006 Deacon Barbara Crockett
2010 Rev Lynda Coates
2013 Rev Colin Jackson
2016 Rev Janet Tanner
2021 Rev Phil Snelson

Hall Lane Methodist Church

Mission & Action Plan

‘Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever’

Our Vision

'We believe we are called to share our knowledge and faith in Jesus with others so that our families, friends, neighbours and those we meet in everyday life may be encouraged to follow Jesus for themselves.’

This Mission Plan for Hall Lane Methodist Church outlines the opportunities and goals for 2024. During this time we aim to achieve the following:

• to strengthen our faith in God

• to grow a stronger Hall Lane fellowship

• to offer a varied programme of worship available to all

• to engage with people in our local community and family and friends

• to grow our church groups in number

• to ensure Hall Lane is a safe place for all people to meet

• to ensure Hall Lane is an accessible and an inclusive environment for all

• to take action to manage the environmental impact of Hall Lane on our local community and the wider environment

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1. WORSHIP

As a Methodist community, worship is at the heart of what we do.

Hall Lane offers Sunday worship every week of the year. We enjoy worship led by ministers and local preachers, as the circuit plan allows, and we have a minimum of one LA (local arrangement) each month. If there are five Sundays in the month we have two LAs.

LAs at Hall Lane can either be a service led by the Hall Lane worship team, which are often based on the Vine Worship resources (licence purchased by the circuit), or a prayer meeting which is led by a member of the congregation.

Our worship life is enhanced by the modern audio visual equipment and Wi-Fi which is installed throughout the church building. As there are no musicians at Hall Lane we rely heavily on pre-recorded video worship songs and hymns which enhances the worship life of the church, a digital hymnal is also available.

Our quarterly church rota is put together as soon as the circuit plan is published. The stewards ensure that preachers have everything they need for their services at Hall Lane. Tasks which further help Sunday worship to run smoothly, and enhance the ambience of the church during worship, are carried out by our congregation, these include readings, refreshments, AV, flowers etc.

Circuit partnership

Hall Lane is committed to the National Forest East circuit and encourages attendance at circuit meetings and services which take place throughout the year.

Churches Together

Hall Lane is committed to work together ecumenically with Greenhill Community Church and St David’s Church of England.

AIMS:

We aim to facilitate a variety of worship styles to create an environment which meets the needs of our congregation and to help bring them closer to God; we aim to offer opportunities for new worshippers that may encourage them to join our congregation; and to encourage the congregation to take part in the workings of the church.

ACTIONS:

· The stewards will liaise with preachers each week to ensure that their worship requirements are met and to offer help and support to the preachers.

· Ensure that the AV with video songs is prepared for weekly services.

· Encourage an additional two more people to add their names to a bank of volunteers which make Sunday worship run smoothly.

· Ensure that all appropriate licenses are kept up to date so that the church can continue to legally play music on our premises.

· Review the AV equipment currently available in the church hall and community room. To upgrade the equipment to improve the visual and sound facilities in both rooms. To take advice on how best to make our worship available online to people who are unable to attend church, such as the elderly, sick and young families and to seek finance if appropriate.

· Publicise circuit services, social gatherings and meetings on the church noticeboards and in the church newsletters.

· Publicise ecumenical services, social gatherings and meetings on the church noticeboards and in the church newsletters.

2. EVANGELISM & OUTREACH

Hall Lane organises a number of events throughout the year. These include social events and outings, fundraising events and faith events. Some are for the church fellowship and others are aimed at our local community. The proceeds from our fundraising events may be given to charity to or they may be for general church funds or for a specific project at the church. Hall Lane witnesses our faith to the community with window displays showing a religious message, on Good Friday walks through our community with a wooden cross, and carries out carol singing in the streets at Christmas time.

AIMS:
We aim to spend time together as a church fellowship and to encourage people from the different groups who use our building each week, and our local community, to join with us at events during the year.

ACTION:
To organise a minimum of 4 events/occasions/services in 2024 to bring our congregation, church groups and the local community together.

Communication

Strapline/theme for the year

A strapline/theme for the church is agreed at church council each year ready for the next calendar year. It is used to underpin the activities and ‘branding’ for the year. The strapline for 2024 will be ‘Kindness STILL matters’.

AIM: To weave the strapline into the work that we carry out throughout the year.

ACTIONS:

· To print the strapline on a new banner for the wall on the front of the church building, a new display board in the porch displaying the mission statement for the church, and new business cards to be printed for January 2024.

· To include an article in the church newsletter at the beginning of the year to highlight to members of the congregation that the cards are available for use when sending a note or gift in the name of Hall Lane. They should be used when giving out the flowers on a Sunday after worship.

· Use the strapline on the notices and website and social media.

Weekly notices

Weekly notices are produced each week to communicate what is happening on the church premises and in the circuit.

AIM:
To communicate to our congregation on a weekly basis so that all are aware of what takes place at Hall Lane.

ACTION:
To produce the weekly notices both electronically and on paper and distribute as appropriate to our congregation and wider church family.

Newsletter

A regular newsletter is produced and is available on paper and electronically, it’s called ‘Hello Hall Lane’. The newsletter includes church news, circuit news, photographs, quizzes, articles and useful dates. Paper copies are available to all user groups of the church. It is sent electronically to people who are away on holiday, can’t attend regularly or are interested friends of the church. It is also added to the Hall Lane website.

AIM:
To communicate regularly to our congregation and friends of Hall Lane and make it available to all users.

ACTION:

· Produce a minimum of 8 issues of ‘Hello Hall Lane’ each year.

· To encourage more people to contribute to the content.

Website

The church website has existed since 2013. It includes information about the church which is useful to visitors and members alike. It includes information about the history of the church, news and details on events and what happens each week.

AIM:
To improve the visibility of Hall Lane online and provide a source of information about our church to our congregation, friends and wider community.

ACTION:

· To keep the website up to date and give it an annual refresh to its design.

External Notice boards

The church has a permanent external notice board on the church premises close to the road with static details about worship times, contact details for our minister and our website address. There are two further external notice boards attached to the church building on either side of the main doors. These can have posters and notices placed on them and are easily accessed to keep up to date.

AIM:
To use the external notice boards that are attached to the church to attract the attention of passers-by in our community and let them know what happens at Hall Lane.

ACTION:

· Change the ‘wayside pulpit’ type posters at least 4 times a year.

· Ensure a poster for each church group is always on show to publicise their activities on the notice boards.

· Consider purchasing new notice boards for the walls outside as they leak water which affects the visibility of the notices.

Internal Notice Boards

There are two internal church notice boards, one in the porch and the other in the corridor. The board in the corridor is an ‘inspirational’ board for specifically promoting church activities and events and the other (in the porch) is a board where operational, legal and practical notices, and if there is room, non-church activities are presented.

AIM:

To give church events and information prominence to all users of the church.

ACTIONS:

· To present all information to users of the church, whether it is for operational purposes or promotional, in an attractive manner and to keep posters/signs up to date.

· To ensure that only inspirational posters about Hall Lane are placed on the notice board in the corridor and keep them up to date; and keep the operational notice board tidy and up to date.

· To produce a pictorial board showing ‘who’s who’ at Hall Lane showing key members of Hall Lane’s management team including our minister, treasurer, stewards, property secretaries, lettings secretary.

· Consider installing a digital monitor in the porch to display posters and notices and inspirational messages for all visitors to the church.

Paper publicity

The church has three publicity leaflets to hand out to visitors to Hall Lane. One is a generic welcome to Hall Lane and has good imagery and text about worship and the different groups which meet at Hall Lane, the second advertises our Ladies Group, again with good imagery and describes what happens each session and a third is for Messy Church. It uses the Messy Church logo and encourages families to join the group. These three leaflets are for areas of the church life where services/sessions are open to all and don’t have issues with maximum numbers. For example, the lunch club works at maximum capacity and has a waiting list and the toddler group is very busy each week, if there are spaces they are usually filled by word of mouth.

AIM:
To promote the church and its activities using print.

ACTIONS:

· Ensure the leaflets are up to date ready for distribution at the summer fair; and that they are permanently on display in the porch. Leaflets to be available at each of our church events.

· Consider whether further leaflets should be produced.

Social Media

The church has a Facebook account which is used to post news and photographs of what has happened at Hall Lane as well as information about forthcoming events. The majority of posts are ‘shared’ with the circuit and district Facebook pages where appropriate. Events such as the summer fair and coffee mornings are ‘boosted’ to reach a wider community audience than our group of followers.

A Hall Lane Toddlers Facebook page is managed by the group with links to the church Facebook page. Children’s activities are posted regularly.

A Hall Lane Messy Church Facebook page advertises each month’s session and posts children’s activities each month.

AIM:

To communicate online with our local community, members and friends of the church in an effective and efficient manner using social media.

ACTIONS:

To post an inspirational message at least once per month on Hall Lane Church Facebook page and to post 2 photographs from church groups each month; and to boost each community event at least once to the wider community.

Church groups

A number of church groups meet regularly to encourage people of all ages to join together and enjoy being part of the Hall Lane fellowship.

Ladies group

The ladies group has been running since the beginning of the church and some founder members still attend. The group meets once every two weeks and includes a ‘thought for the day’, some music and a prayer. The sessions might have a speaker, be a social evening or an outing. The group includes church members and people from our local community.

Toddlers

Every Friday, during term time, a group of babies, toddlers and their carers meet for the children to play and the carers to chat and offer support to each other. A member of church fellowship helps with the group by making refreshments.

Messy Church

Families join together once each month on a Sunday afternoon for church-based activities and tea. Our minister takes a lead in this activity.

AIM:
To increase the number of people using the groups

ACTION:

· Consider new means of promoting the groups to our local community.

3. LEARNING & CARING

We seek to deepen our knowledge of the bible and to grow in our faith and a number of events and bible studies take place through the year. We encourage members of our congregation to take part in the smooth running of Hall Lane. Training and encouragement is offered to people to help improve skills and confidence for various roles and activities of the church. This can be for tasks such as how to use the AV equipment or encouraging someone to add their name to a Sunday rota for a role they’ve never done before.

Bible study, personal development & events

Hall Lane has participated in Bible Month for a number of years using resources supplied from the Methodist Church. Further studies have also taken place during the year including at Lent and Advent. The bible studies have been led by either our minister, supernumerary minister or local preachers at Hall Lane. Over the Easter period different events may take place to help members learn more about the events of Holy Week.

Prayer handbook

The church congregation is encouraged to purchase a Methodist Church annual prayer handbook and support is offered to new users to make the most of this resource.

Pastoral care

Hall Lane has operated a pastoral visitor system since its beginnings and all members of the Methodist Church have a pastoral visitor who keeps in touch with each person in their care. In more recent years all worshippers have been allocated to one of our pastoral visitors who keep in touch by phone, visits, emails or a card put through the letterbox. Everyone knows there is someone they can turn to as a point of contact, for support and friendship. This valuable work is carried out by a team of leaders who regularly meet with the minister to keep watch over any situations that may need attention or a minister’s visit.

AIMS:
To encourage all members and friends of Hall Lane to learn more about our faith, take part in study groups, learn new skills in order to help themselves and others to learn more and to keep pastoral care over the church fellowship at Hall Lane.

ACTIONS:

· To organise a series of bible study sessions/events during 2024 and encourage more participation from the church family and beyond.

· To support new groups which start up that encourage the sharing of personal journeys and learning.

· Hold a pastoral committee meeting 3 times during the church year 2024.

· Due to the increase in the attendance at Sunday worship consideration should be given to the number of pastoral visitors available to ensure that everyone who attends worship has someone to support them.

4. SERVING

Hall Lane offers a number of services to our local area and helps external service providers in our wider community.

Lunch club

The church-run monthly lunch club serves the local community and offers a two-course meal and a drink to people who are in need of some company. The meal is charged at cost price plus a small amount to help pay for sundries in the kitchen. An average of 24 people attend each time which is the maximum the room can hold and still remain accessible. Every session begins with a prayer.

The meal is prepared onsite by a team of church volunteers. Our minister regularly attends and chats with each person which is a valuable means of communication in our locality.

AIM:
To offer a time of fellowship with older members of our community and to engage with each visitor.

ACTION:

· To organise 10 lunch club sessions each year.

Food bank

The church supports the local Foodbank and makes a space available for a box to collect items for the Coalville Foodbank which is run by the Trussell Trust. Several members of the congregation work as volunteers for the organisation and help to collect food, sort it and distribute it to clients.

Charitable giving

Many of the church events are held to raise funds for charity. When there is a national or world disaster we put out a collection bucket on a Sunday morning to collect donations. The church ladies group chooses a different charity each year and raises money through events and social gatherings.

Lettings

The church building is used throughout the week by local community groups which include a pre-school group which meets every week-day morning during term time. Families and children from the group are invited to attend church events during the year; and church members help out occasionally at the pre-school, for example by helping with refreshments when parents are invited to the Christmas nativity.

A number of small U3A groups use the building on a monthly basis.

A sewing group called the Jubilee Quilters meets regularly at the church and offers a handmade quilt as a raffle prize to help raise funds for the annual ladies’ charity.

The charity Hospice Hope meets every week in the church buildings to offer their drop-in café support group. Several church members help at the group each week and several more attend.

A weekly meeting of Slimming World takes place at the church but there is little connection with this group. Leaders change regularly and it is difficult to create a relationship with them.

Numerous exercise groups hire the church rooms each week and a number of the church congregation have joined these groups. There is a good relationship with these groups who support various church events.

Our lettings secretary is a link between the church and each of these groups and offers a friendly contact with them.

5. A SAFE, RESPONSIBLE & CARING ENVIRONMENT

Property

Hall Lane Methodist Church is kept in good condition to ensure a safe and warm space for its congregation, users and visitors throughout the year.

Our Environment

In response to the climate change emergency, a set of practical steps and recommendations for churches have been created by the Connexion. Hall Lane aims to be good stewards of what God has provided and wishes to play our part in saving the planet for future generations and has an Eco Group which explores opportunities to feed back to church groups. Hall Lane is a member of Eco Church and currently has a bronze award based on the environmental changes we’ve implemented in the way we work. We are working towards a silver award but ultimately to becoming carbon neutral.

The church supports FairTrade products and is careful when sourcing products.

Safeguarding

An ongoing programme of safeguarding training courses is offered by the circuit for the congregation and people with positions in the church who work with children and vulnerable adults. Our minister, the church Safeguarding Officer and circuit Safeguarding Officer ensure that the appropriate people within Hall Lane and its user groups have up to date DBS checks and have undergone the correct Safeguarding training programme.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

All are welcome at Hall Lane and we must ensure all feel comfortable to attend any of our times of worship, groups or events. Hall Lane is registered for same sex weddings. We welcome the use of our premises by other groups no matter what ethnic origins, faith, gender, age or status. All stewards must complete the Methodist Church training course for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Our building is accessible for all users including those with physical impairments and all must feel safe when entering Hall Lane building and be confident that they could leave the building safely in an emergency. The main church hall and community room have a hearing loop to assist those with hearing impairments and we have large print bibles and hymn books available. An accessible toilet is available for less mobile users.

Health and safety

The property committee ensures that the church building, car park and external gardens and pathways are kept well-maintained, clean and tidy to ensure they are safe to use. However, all users of the church must take responsibility for their actions and individual groups should undertake risk assessments as they use the building and act accordingly.

A first aid box is accessible to all users should it be needed. An accident book is available for users of the building to report any accidents or incidents and this is inspected regularly to monitor any issues that may be improved by intervention by the church. A defibrillator is also kept centrally in the church building which is of a type that doesn’t need any training or skill to use.

The local authority food safety inspectors visit the church each year to check that the Hall Lane catering team have the appropriate training, equipment and skills to prepare food safely. The church currently has the top rating of 5 out of 5.

GDPR

All personal information belonging to members of the congregation and friends of Hall Lane is kept confidential and safe. Each group leader must ask permission from their group members to keep their member’s relevant information on file and for permission for photographs to be taken and used in newsletters, website and social media etc. Information must not be shared without permission.

AIMS:

The church aims to offer a safe environment for all to use and enjoy. This includes being safe from physical injury, and safe in the event of an emergency in the building; to commit to work towards becoming carbon neutral; to do everything we can to keep everyone safe from predatory behaviours, free from prejudiced language and behaviour; and all personal data is collected legally and kept safe.

ACTIONS:

· The Property Committee will work continuously to ensure that the building and its outside spaces are kept safe and in good condition. All insurances and safety devices (smoke alarms, emergency lighting, gas appliances, fire extinguishers etc) to be kept up to date and serviced including the first aid box and defibrillator.

· All legal church required inspections and testing to be completed and reported as required.

· To carry out 1 fire drill in the year during morning worship.

· To ensure the catering team and all users of the kitchen facilities are aware of the health and safety rules set out by the local authority.

· To ensure that the kitchen facilities are kept to the standard required by the local authority for food preparation and cooking.

· To be mindful of our commitment to FairTrade products when purchasing new kitchen supplies.

· For the church to commit to work towards becoming carbon neutral. To be achieved by the Property Committee and Eco Group working together to draw up a 5-year plan which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the church and to implement the actions agreed.

· To encourage recycling by all groups that use the church by using the bins provided.

· To encourage all groups to switch off lights and unnecessary electrical appliances.

· To not buy single use plastic items for church use such as plastic plates and cutlery.

· To work with the circuit safeguarding officer to ensure all Hall Lane group leaders and helpers are trained through the Methodist Church to the appropriate safeguarding level, and have up to date DBS checks

· To ensure all users of Hall Lane are aware of the safeguarding procedures at the church, this will be achieved by publishing an article in Hello Hall Lane.

· To ensure all stewards are up to date with Methodist training.

· To carry out an audit of personal data being held by each church group leader to ensure data that is held for Hall Lane members and friends is only held where necessary and with the appropriate permissions. Ensure unnecessary lists of personal information are destroyed. This will take place during 2024.

As a church we share our faith in welcome, worship, friendship and care, through working and fellowship together in a variety of church-organised and community-organised groups and activities, to offer conversation, support and prayer.

We aim to encourage everyone to follow Jesus, basing their life on him and learning from him, using their God-given gifts to help and serve, as the Spirit makes us more like him.

To be reviewed at each steward’s meeting and re-assessed at the end of 2024.

Hall Lane Stewards
Agreed at Church Council June 2024

Our Hall Lane EcoGroup aims to offer a facilitating role to the whole church and to individuals as we all seek to express Christian discipleship through social responsibility.

The ongoing aim is to be good stewards of what God has provided and to play our part in saving the planet for future generations.

We are guided especially by guiding principles set out by the Methodist Church (including net zero emissions by 2030) and “A Rocha” (a Christian charity) to whom we are affiliated.

Hall Lane Methodist Church is situated on the outskirts of the village of Whitwick on the edge of the town of Coalville.

The two main market towns in the local area are Ashby de la Zouch and Coalville which both lie at the heart of the flourishing National Forest, an area that embraces ancient buildings, interesting visitor attractions and miles of hidden nature trails. There are also precious reminders of the industrial revolution, lovingly preserved and proudly displayed. The emerging National Forest is changing the face of this part of the county, providing lots of opportunities for walking, cycling and horse riding. At the heart of the forest lies the award-winning family visitor attraction Conkers, at Moira. Rain or shine, there’s lots to do, with indoor and outdoor activities providing fun for all ages.

At Ashby, climb to the top of the tower at Ashby Castle to enjoy the view that inspired Sir Walter Scott’s tournament scene in his famous novel, Ivanhoe. The town also has good shops including many individual shops situated in narrow passageways off Market Street. Nearby at Staunton Harold, the Ferrer’s Centre has craft workshops, offering ceramics, paintings and furniture. Coalville is also a main town in north west Leicestershire.

Also in the local area, just one mile away from Hall Lane Methodist Church is Mount St. Bernard Abbey. It was the first Catholic Abbey to be founded in this country after the reformation (1835).

At Mount St. Bernard Abbey today the monks are involved in running a Trappist brewery, producing their own pottery, and running a shop and guesthouse

The church today

History of Hall Lane

Mission Statement

Our ECO Group Journey

Our Locality