Editor's choice May 2011

May 2011 Balsall Heathan

Moseley Road Methodist Church Closes

A special Commemorative reunion was held recently at the Moseley Road Methodist Church as its congregation prepared to close the church down following a final act of worship at the church on 15th May. The site has been home to a Methodist Church since 1872 and the current building was built to replace the original church which was destroyed due to bomb damage in 1940.

Church Steward Rosalie Marshall who had been worshipping at the site for the last 20 years said when asked if she would miss the church, “The building has become a millstone around our necks really. But the people very mush so yes. I’m very grateful to this church for what it has given me over many many years, spiritually, socially and I’ll be sad to see it go”.

Church Organist for 35 years and more recently Property Secretary for 15 years Nan Haigh said of the closure, “I’m very sad to see it go but from a very practical point of view it had to happen. Although the building itself is a very solid structure, we’ve known it needed investment for a number of years. It’s been a very friendly church. I came here with my husband in 1958 and we were welcomed into the family straight away. The minister came to see us on the Monday night after we had attended on the Sunday and the following Sunday we were teaching in the Sunday School. We were just absorbed into the congregation. In the late 50’s there were a lot of couples that were married here and we’ve formed a bond that has lasted through the years and some of them are here today”.

Current Minister Tony Malcolm who ministers to three churches in the area will still be seeing many of the congregation as they move to different churches. “We had been trying to redevelop the site for a number of years with different partners and nothing has come through for us. We needed an investment of about half a million just to put this right at the moment and it became impossible to maintain. The building is no longer fit for purpose really”. When asked about his favourite memory Tony said “Just watching the children grow up through the church, the baptisms and the weddings. For many even though they don’t come here to this church anymore it was the church that nurtured them and so is special to them.”

When asked about the future Tony said, “The ‘Churches Together’ has been very important and I would like to encourage the churches still here to continue and I hope that in the future there will be some Methodist presence still here in Balsall Heath”.