Simon Allaby shares with us 140 years at Bolney Village Chapel (BVC).

On Sunday 30 November the present congregation at Bolney Village Chapel were joined by friends from the past to celebrate our 140th anniversary. (Actually we were a day early as the Mission Room was opened on 1 December 1885!)

Not originally a chapel belonging to the Connexion (we joined in 1975) the chapel’s roots lay with a group of Christians meeting during the summer of 1885 to study the Bible and begin an evangelical witness to the village.

From that Bible study the Mission Room emerged in the converted hayloft of Mr James Haslett, a local florist and nurseryman. When the meeting quickly outgrew his hayloft the first Chapel was built on a neighbouring piece of land, and then in 2004 the modern building which stands today.

Our guest speaker was Ian Denyer who lived in Bolney for 44 years - living in the White House that had previously been owned by James Haslett - and a faithful and long-serving Elder. He spoke about the origins of the Chapel but then led us to 1 Kings 8 and the dedication of the Temple in the time of King Solomon. He reminded us that the Temple was built to point people not to itself but to the indwelling presence of a holy and mighty God.

We gave thanks to God for his presence at BVC for these past 140 years and were encouraged to look forward to many more such years to come.

A beautiful cake had been made for the day (even if the figurine of the pastor had rather too much grey hair!) and the service was followed by a splendid lunch and opportunity to catch up with old friends.

Huge thanks to everyone for such a wonderful occasion!

Simon