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Post 1972 |
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On the 5th October 1972, St. John's joined
with many Congregational and Presbyterian Churches to become the United
Reformed Church (URC). |
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(click thumbnail for larger image) |
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In 1981 the Churches of Christ also became
part of the URC. |
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THE DEMOLITION OF THE OLD ST. JOHN'S
CHURCH
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On the 26th July 1999, the four churches of
the North Bradford Group disbanded. St. John's was a single pastorate
till 8th April 2000 when they joined with Eccleshill and Idle URCs to form a
joint pastorate. |
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Since the new St. John's Church was created in
1969, numbers had dwindled, due to moving away as well as the natural ageing
process. |
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The Church was left with two choices:
either close or change radically. The decision was to demolish the old
St. John's Church, sell part of the land to Habiteg Housing Association and
with substantial help from the URC and the Single Regeneration Project to
create a vibrant community centre. |
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The centre would be run by a Management
Committee, comprising representatives of the URC Synod, District and local
church, together with members from the local community. |
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THE BUILDING OF ST. JOHN'S CENTRE
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The opening of the centre took place over the
weekend of the 6th and 7th October 2001. On Saturday 6th October a Fun
Day and tea was held. The Lord Mayor attended and events included a
balloon race, keep fit demonstrations, a youth band, face painting, and
tombola. The Fire and Police Departments also attended. |
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On the Sunday 7th October an opening service
of celebration was held, led by the Moderator of the Yorkshire Synod, Rev
Arnold Harrison, together with former ministers David Miller and Eric Carless. |
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