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SAMARES WESLEYAN METHODIST MISSION
The
origins of what is now known as Samarès Methodist Church are to be found in the
minutes of the Quarterly Meeting of the English Wesleyan Methodist Circuit held
on the 29th September 1895 when one Mr. Dupre having "suggested the
possibility and desirability of opening a Mission Room at Samarès ", the
meeting appointed a committee to carry the suggestion forward. The following
June, the Quarterly Meeting was given "some favourable reports regarding
the Mission Room at Samarès". Unfortunately we do not know the exact
location of that first Mission Room other than it was some 50 yards to the East
of the present buildings but there is a tradition that it was in a nearby
cottage. A Sunday School was started in 1896.
It was only four years later, in March 1900, that the
Quarterly Meeting unanimously sanctioned a recommendation "for the erection
of a village chapel to accommodate 100 persons at a probable cost of
£300"; and although things evidently did not go altogether smoothly-
original plans were rejected, new plans were drawn up and costs escalated- the
new chapel was built at a cost of £420 and was opened and dedicated on the 8th
October, 1903. Following the laying of the foundation stone earlier that year,
the Evening Post (the local newspaper) reported that under a stone marked WVG
was placed a leaden box containing coin of the realm, Methodist documents etc.
The Superintendent Minister is reported to have said "The building should
be one to attract and not repel, .....and children should gather in a building
where there is both comfort and peace".
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Foundation stones
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1.
M.G.
- Miss M.
Groom
2.
W.V.G.
- W. Valpy
Gaudin
3.
J.J.D.
- J. J. Dupré
4.
L.G.V.D
- Mrs. L. G.
V. Dupré (in memory of) |
5.
A.E.Le
J. -
A. E. Le Jeune
6.
J.E.P.D.
- J. E. P.
Davey
7.
S.S.S.
- Samarès
Sunday School |
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An article in the
Channel Islands Wesleyan Methodist Monthly published in November ,1903,
describes the chapel thus: "This
new chapel strikes one as being particularly bright, homely and comfortable.
It has a neat appearance from the outside and is calculated to keep out
all rough
weather to which it is so
much exposed. |
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As you enter, by a tiled porch, you find yourself in a
well-lighted building that will seat 100 people, not including a portion that is
to be partitioned off as a vestry. The
walls are of a soft green colour that is very restful to the eye.
Everything seems up to date, even to a block floor, chairs instead of
forms, and acetylene gas, which, at the evening service, gave a very steady
powerful and yet not glaring light."
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In 1935, the chapel was
equipped with electric lighting through the generosity of Elizabeth Lady Knott
of Samarès Manor (later Mrs. Elizabeth Obbard), who performed the
"switching-on" ceremony on the 18th December, 1935.
During the German occupation of the Island (1940-1945),
members of
the church formed a group called the Glenmoral Concert Party (so called because
a number of them lived in nearby Glendale and Balmoral Avenues) with the object
of raising funds to build a Sunday School Hall (a
publicity poster for one of their concerts can be seen hanging
in the Entrance lobby today). Their efforts eventually bore fruit when on the 8th
October 1956 (the 53rd anniversary of the opening of the chapel), the
present hall was opened by Miss Eunice Billot, who had been present when the
chapel was opened. The hall cost just over £900. |
| In 1968, the States of Jersey Public
Works Committee decided to widen the coast road alongside the chapel
and, in order for that to be achieved, the trustees sold an area of 608
square feet to the States for the sum of £552.
By doing this, the chapel lost the original low wall, railings
and gateway bordering the road, and the entrance to the chapel was moved
from the south of the little porch to the east, where it remained until
the year 2000, when a major refurbishment and renovation project was
completed. |
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| During the ministry of the Rev. David Miller (1993 –
1998), the decision was taken to refurbish the premises to bring
them up to modern standards, but it took several years before the dream
became a reality. The
original porch became the vestry, the former vestry window was converted
into the main entrance, a glazed, folding screen was erected at the rear
of the worship area, creating a new vestibule as well as providing a
passageway through to the adjacent Church Hall.
New toilets (including one for the use of disabled people) were
built and the kitchen was totally refurbished and fitted with modern
appliances. The new-look
premises were rededicated on the 2nd April, 2000, and we believe that
they are now more likely, in the words quoted above, “to attract and
not to repel”. |
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| In May 2004, we participated in
the Walk Jersey initiative when 40 walkers visited 2000 homes in the parish
to tell of "Great news for a change". A team of eight slept in our hall for
a week and over that time many friendships were struck up. |
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| Church Anniversary October 2004 |
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