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Music The Bible is very
clear about the importance of music in the worship of God. Music has always
featured prominently in worship at Bethel. Wesley Perrins, son of one of
founders of Bethel, claims the first Bethelites originally came to faith via
the Salvation Army. Attracted by the bright banners and rousing sounds of the
brass band as the Salvation Army marched down Lye High Street these men and
women stayed to listen to the preacher and became converted. We next come to
a significant musical moment when Wesley records how the same men and women
unhappy with the doctrine being preached at the Gospel Hall they attended
made the decision to leave the said fellowship and worship together the home
of Mrs and Mrs Charles Dickens in Crabbe Street. As they left the Gospel Hall
service on that fateful Sunday evening they all stood together by the door
and sang a hymn before departing. Sadly the lady who witnessed the event is
unable to recall the hymn that gave them strength. The newly formed
Bethel Society eventually purchased premises in Pump Street where they
continued to worship until the current chapel was completed in April 1900.
The Committee minutes of 1895 record the rather lovely decision to suspend
the Annual General Meeting every half hour for prayer. Their determination to
make a beautiful noise for the Lord is also evident when one reads further on
that the committee purchased from Mr Stanton of Tipton ‘a best French H----‘
, ‘H’ standing for Harmonium. Wesley Perrins muses that the secretary was not
sure how to spell the word and intended to check and complete it later! The sound of the Harmonium accompanying
worship in Divine Service at
Bethel was reprised in 2000 at
Bethel’s Centenary weekend celebration
when a Moody and Sankey themed evening service let us all indulge in those
wonderful hymns once again. Eventually Bethel
set it sights upon a Reed Organ and in true Bethel fashion a fundraising
committee organised concerts, sold scented cards and made sausage and mash
suppers until in 1936 they were able to place the order for the marvellous
instrument which is as wonderful today as ever it was.
The archives have
several photos of Bethel Choirs through the decades, including the one
printed, which features a rather young and charming Alan Dickens (prize for
spotting the smile). [Can you recognise anyone else?] Choirs have moved us
every Good Friday Since the 1930’s by singing Stainer’s Crucifixion although
in recent years Olivet To Calvary has
occasionally been rendered. The Bethel Choral
society has had a revival in recent years thanks in part to the talents of
Mrs Beryl Hill, a renowned local Soprano. There were some
Choral renditions in the 1990’s for example the Palm Sunday 1991 recital of
Jerusalem Joy, which included the particularly mesmerising song “Jesus rode a
Donkey into Town.’ For those not yet acquainted with the song, tapes are
available!! The newsletter of April
1991 records that it was a busy weekend for John Woodhouse, baptised on
Saturday and singing the part of Jesus on Sunday, the church waited for his
next performance with bated breath!! As Bethel moved
into the 1990’s Worship for the Sunday School and morning church became more
contemporary demanding a different type of musical accompaniment so the
Bethel Band was born. Although originally consisting of Pastor Jill and John
Woodhouse, Bethel is gifted with a talented congregation and they were
quickly joined by others. But, there
was a PA system to be bought and yes... you have guessed it, fundraising
commenced. So one grey March morning
in 1993 an intrepid band of Bethelites set off on a sponsored walk to raise
the said funds. There were some amongst our brothers and sisters who chose
not to walk, but to sponsor Pastor Jill rather generous amounts of money to
do one of the things she most disliked namely, walking!! Nowadays at Bethel services
we enjoy praising God with both traditional and modern worship music. We are
so very blessed with all the wonderful people who express their faith through
their musical talent and lead us in worship every Sunday. We give thanks for
the musicians who have served Bethel down the years, for it is music which
helps us respond emotionally to God and His people, as we sing of God’s works
and give Him thanks and praise, and encourage one another to live for Him. February Memories Every year, as
January fades into February Bethel’s events calendar seems to fill almost
within the space of a few days. For any large church, the logistics of
ensuring everyone is informed of everything is a monumental task .However, in
the early days of Bethel this was not a problem. Although it was a large
church, nearly all of the Bethel church family lived and worked in Lye thus
seeing each other on a daily basis; rather, it was hard to keep something
quiet! In the 1920’s a Bethel magazine was launched, taking the form of
reviewing recent events and news. By the late 1930’s members were not living
and working in such close proximity so an effective means of communication
had to be devised. The problem was solved by asking all members to contribute
3d ( 1p) every three months toward the printing of a Society plan which would
than be distributed by Alfred Worton and George Perks to all society members.
The Quarterly plan and the magazine eventually merged and was published for
several decades. There may have been a puritanical streak in one of the
magazines editorial staff for the minutes of 1938 show that it was proposed
that advertising was banned from the magazine. The magazine has reappeared
over the years in various guises, indeed this is the second anniversary of
the Bethel Magazine in its current guise, it seems God refuses to give up on
this idea!!! That we are now able to publish ‘in house’ is
largely due to the wonderful office facilities we have at Bethel. The office
is the hub of the administration for all the Bethel departments. We are
always humbled by the generosity of God and never take for granted all that
we share at Bethel. A church as large and busy as Bethel needs an excellent
administrative staff (with which we are blessed) and the equipment and resources to enable the staff to do an
effective job, these things Bethel now
has in abundance. Yet, the Bethel office is a relatively new innovation in
the Bethel story. In February 1990 the editor of the Bethel Magazine (Glenda
Harvey) proudly announced that as a result of successful appeals for
donations of equipment, the Bethel
Office was now in working order complete with
filing cabinets, desk and a
rather smart swivel chair courtesy of Judy Winning! We were still
hoping for a word processor and photocopier all of which the Lord has since
provided through the generosity of his listening faithful servants. The
office was manned or womanned every Monday morning. Further excitement was to
follow a month later when, as a result of various fundraising events including a coffee evening hosted
by Wendy Weston, the telephone was installed. Traditionally one of the first events in the
start of the New Year at Bethel is the Sunday School Prize Giving. At the
beginning of the twentieth century books were not as freely available as they
are today and each book was a valued possession to the recipients. On
February 17th 1929, 200 prizes were given out in
recognition of attendance throughout 1928. We are fortunate that families
have donated to the archives some of the Sunday School Prizes of their loved
ones. The earliest Prize we have was presented for good attendance Beatrice
Watkins in 1906. During the Second
World War acquiring suitable books was becoming a real problem, ships which
normally carried paper pulp were being requisitioned for essential supplies
and paper was in short supply and in 1944 the decision was taken that Prize
Giving could not he held that year. On a happier note the February 1945
magazine was anticipating the imminent end to the war and expressing the hope
that paper supplies would soon improve in order that children may receive
books in 1946. I am happy to report is exactly what happened.
Throughout the years Bethel has been entrusted with
the precious privilege of being able to tell children about Jesus. The Prize
is a symbol of Bethel’s thanks and appreciation to each child for their
allowing us this joy. In 1991 it was decided to offer children the
opportunity to choose their own book
the week before Prize Giving. This year it is change about again with
the children all being given a surprise book chosen specifically for them, I
personally suspect Pastor Jill has had a whale of a time reading all of them
cover to cover in order to select who would like what! In earlier times
the books were given out class by class but nowadays it is in random order.
As the children and young people go forward to receive their prizes it is
wonderful to see each of those precious children and know they are safe in
the care of Jesus. Thank you, God for blessing us with so many beautiful
children to teach. More Christmastime Memories Over 2000 years ago in a
Bethlehem a little town in the troubled land of Israel a little child was
born. As he grew he filled his mother’s heart with a bittersweet mixture of joy
and trepidation for, it proved to be as the angel had foretold to her, that
her baby son, Jesus, would be the Messiah.
This world saving event is joyfully celebrated every year Bethel. The Advent season usually
begins with the Christmas Fayre which is a time to welcome friends old and
new through the doors of Bethel. This event has become such a permanent
feature of the Bethel year that it stands out when the November 1990
newsletter asserted that there would be no Christmas Fayre that December, just
a Christmas Coffee Morning with refreshments but no stalls or games of any
kind. It had been strongly felt that God had advised people’s spirits against
such an event. By the time of the January 1991 newsletter it was quite clear
just how wise Bethelites were to listen to this advice. The day planned for
the Coffee morning which would in other circumstances have been the day of
the Fayre saw such a downfall of snow that most people could not venture out
of their front doors let alone make the journey to Church. Oftentimes our
gracious God gives us the solution long before we even know there will be a
problem! As we celebrate our
Saviour’s birth the chapel abounds with parties as the various departments
and groups celebrate the birth of our Saviour. Dear old Santa always visits
to join in with all the fun, delighted to see all the children whilst they
are awake rather than asleep! In
December 1990 he dropped in to visit parents and children after the Nativity
Service, in order to distribute presents to the Sunday School children as
well as collect gifts they had asked him to give to those less fortunate.
Unfortunately for him and the rest of the adults someone had forgotten to
switch the urn on, so whilst Rudolph and friends were doing quite nicely on the
roof eating carrots poor old Santa had a bit of a dry time. After much
laughter, kettles were found, pressed into service and eventually Santa went
on his way north, refreshed and restored. Never let it be said that
the Christmas fun is confined to the littlies, the adults too have had their
share of parties over the years. There
have been dances, discos and dinners a plenty, whilst the more mature
Cornerstone members always enjoy a rather splendid lunch party. The committee members planning the festivities
in 1947 received an intriguing proposal from Mr E Dickens and Mr F Stinton -
they suggested that “we have a men’s effort for Christmas” I vote we have one
of those every Christmas! In December 1940 the war was
affecting every aspect of life. It was decided that Committee would meet
before Sunday evening service, the service itself would be limited to one
hour exactly, and the Sunday afternoon classes were to amalgamate in order to
conserve fuel. Sunday School would continue in the mornings as usual, however,
because the regular nightly air raids kept many people out of bed for most of
the night, attendance was very sparse because anxious parents tried to ensure
that their children caught up with lost sleep at weekends. By the late 1980’s Sunday
School attendance was very high and with many parents choosing to stay rather
than go home the morning service enjoyed a new lease of life. In 1989 the Sunday school decided to do
something rather innovative with customary nativity service. They took the
service past the manger scene and bought it up to date by celebrating with a
party, in fact the service was subtitled ‘Heaven Invites You to a Party’ and
culminated with party poppers, streamers and banners. The church was packed
for the carol service and many took the joyful message of Christmas home with
them.
In more recent years the
Nativity Service has returned to traditional roots, with the children of
Little Lambs and Sunday School blessing us as they present to us the story of
Jesus’ birth.. The witness of their happiness and wonder and genuine pleasure
as they worship and give thanks for someone who was once just
like them, reminds us that Jesus told us that it is to children ‘such as
these that the kingdom of heaven belongs’
May we all find the child in our hearts this Christmas and as we
celebrate our gift from God, our own share in the kingdom of heaven. May we
remember to share this gift with all those that we meet so that we may all
feel the touch of heaven on earth. November is a time for
remembrance.
For Bethel,
November is traditionally a time when we remember our founders to whose
faithfulness we owe so much today. It is also the time when we honour those
service men and women who have fought on our behalf in the armed conflicts
since 1914 in order to safeguard the freedom we have today. Throughout the
years young men and women from the Bethel community have, and still do serve
in the armed forces. The November 1932 magazine reflects upon the 1918 Armistice
Day and exhorts the readers not to let their sacrifice be in vain. The writer
is concerned about public apathy towards Adolf Hitler in Germany, and asks
the good people of Bethel to join the local branch League of Nations in order to educate public opinion ‘so that peace
and not war shall prevail in the future’.
Sadly as we all know, this was not to be. In November 1942
the magazine reported that the Comfort Fund (which was set up by Bethelites
to raise funds in order to send gifts to those serving at the battle front)
reported that they had 36 Bethel soldiers on their list to whom they had been
able to send regular financial gifts. The Comfort Fund also sent quarterly
consignments of gift parcels to soldiers to remind them that they were held
in everyone’s hearts. In November 2004
Bethel was blessed when the British Legion held their annual service of
Remembrance within its walls, and this beautiful service has now become part
of the Bethel year. It is with grateful hearts that we thank God for the
privilege of being able to join with the British Legion in honouring those
who helped make our world a safer
place, and especially remembering those who for our tomorrow ‘gave their
today’.
Amen Bethel Memories -Autumn The great Autumn
tradition in the Church calendar is the celebration of Harvest. The
celebration of Harvest at Bethel has always been a joyful time of sharing.
The magazines and Committee minutes from the 1930’s onwards tell of
traditions which lasted for decades. Decorating the Church would often begin
on the Friday, in readiness for the traditional Sunday Harvest services,
followed by a public tea on the Monday. The October 1938
minutes record that the charge for that year’s much anticipated public tea was a mere 6d (for those of you too
young to be pre-decimal, 2½p!) Following the said feast was the high point of
the evening, the ‘auction’. 1938 saw Mr Fred Dickens gamely agreeing to
preside over the sale of the Harvest produce, with a good time being had by all. The Bethel
archives seem to indicate that Harvest weekend celebrations continued
throughout the war years, even when rationing was at it’s severest. The Harvest
services thanking God for the food that was available in such austere times
must have been very moving, proving that the Holy Spirit that appears when
two or more are gathered in His name is stronger than any enemy’s efforts to
destroy the fortitude of the people of Bethel and The Lye!.
The Harvest tradition was still in full swing in the 1980’s, and the
November 1987 news-sheet recounts a particularly hectic Harvest weekend.
Friday saw the Chapel being decorated with many floral arrangements, all
having a harvest theme as well as the fabulously colourful fruit and
vegetable displays, meant that the Chapel smelled as beautiful as it looked!
Saturday was an open day for all who wished to view the wonderful things that
were in God’s storehouse, whilst the Sunday School children sang their anniversary
songs; it was all helped along by coffee and Madge Berry’s (mother of Pastor
Jill) famous Welsh Cakes. Sunday
Harvest services were followed by the Harvest tea and auction on Monday
evening. The evening began quietly enough, but soon became rather noisy when the bidding commenced . The
auctioneer, Mr James Dickens Esquire described each ‘lot’ in increasingly
glowing terms. His eloquence inspired many to participate in some rather
competitive bidding for many of the items!! The evening ended with many well
fed and satisfied revellers and a healthy donation for the building fund to
erect the entrance hall and kitchen that we all benefit from today, good
result all round I say!! In the 1990’s the tradition of celebrating Harvest as a church
family continued with skittle evenings and barn dances. However, the Harvest
service took on a new tradition when Bethel introduced the ‘gift tree.’
Symbolic of the ‘Tree of Life’ financial gifts are placed around this tree
during the service, which are then
donated to a designated charity each year in order that we may share our
harvest a little further afield.
This year
the Harvest celebrations see a new ‘first’ for Bethel. The harvest festival
will span two weekends; an added bonus is that the beautiful displays done by
Jean Harris and the team of gifted people who work with her will be enjoyed
for much more than a few hours. The traditional services on the 7th
of October will be followed on 14th of October by a family celebration which
incorporates a time of worship and a faith supper followed by a Barn Dance,
which is always a sight to behold! We
thank our God who has arranged for ‘for all our needs to be supplied.’ Bethel Memories - August We are blessed at Bethel to
see so many children entering the doors week after week and to have such a
lively Sunday School with dedicated teachers. One hundred years ago the
situation was no different with the superintendents register for1907 listing
many scholars who attended every week without fail. A register was also taken of teachers who
shared the same immaculate attendance record as their pupils. It is
interesting to note that there was no such things as holidays hence the
attendance never fluctuated throughout the year and the only reason for
absence noted was ‘S’ for sickness. Newsletters from the late 1930’s
demonstrate how things changed when teachers reported diminished numbers due
to families being absent for their weeks summer holiday, hop picking! In the days
before the NHS, hospital treatment was a privilege and the poor relied upon
the hospital committees fundraising effort to help towards their medical
care. The minutes of August 18th 1926 record that the committee voted
to loan the tea urns and tables to the Corbett Hospital Committee for their
fundraising event, and that this loan would be free of all charge. The
records show that Bethel was constantly lending their hard earned possessions
to benefit other groups, which was very generous when one considers that this
was at the beginning of the depression in Britain, there had been a general
strike and work was often irregular. Furthermore the Bethel congregation
still owed a considerable sum on the loan repayment for the Chapel building.
Their cheerful willingness to put their Christian duty to their fellow humans
before liquidating their debt was rewarded. The minutes of August 18th 1936
show that the society was in a position to repay £50.00 that month, which
left a balance of £150.00, a further £50.00 was paid the following August. For those amongst
us who blame Global Warming for this Summer’s terrible weather, take heart in
the fact that before we had even heard of the subject, Bethel folk in August
1939 were feeling rather fed up with the terrible rain they had been experiencing
that Summer. The tennis club had to curtail its summer programme due to the
inclement conditions. The Sunday School Treat was a bit of a wash out with
cakes and tea providing the only consolation!! The newsletters of the late
1980’s and early 90’s record that the Summer Fairs were often held in August.
Our own Mrs Glenda Harvey was the newsletter editor for many years and in
promoting the said Fair due to be held in August 1988 she promised ‘fun and fellowship for all, lots of
side stalls and games, a bouncing castle for the littlies, a barbecue for the
hungry and a raffle for the lucky!!’ as
you can see only the date has changed, the tradition has remained! As the 20th
century progressed, August customarily became the month for holidays and outings
and socials. Bethelites soon got into the swing of this convention. Outings
became a Bethel family feature. Many of the August newsletters describe trips
for the various groups, the Mothers class went to Porthcawl.
The younger
people hired a charabanc and had fun at Church Stretton and Long Mynd, whilst
the Sunday school children of 1947 visited Hartlebury Common for the day. The
only disappointment for those pocket money laden children was ‘the lack of a shop and the
‘Hartlebury equivalent of ‘Ambrose’??’ (can
anyone enlighten me?). To this day we celebrate the Summer as a church family
with social events and just relaxing with each other grateful for the busy
twelve months that have gone before and with pleasant anticipation to the
impending Bethel Church cycle which is always heralded in by the beautiful
celebration of Harvest. We thank God for His generosity and we remember, as
did the earliest Bethelites, that He asks us to share this bounteousness with
our brothers and sisters here in Lye and throughout the His world. Bethel Roots Do you recognise this
building?
Go out of the main Colonel Spratt advertised his desire to work amongst the poor in a
national newspaper. He was invited to Lye in 1880 by a Mr Joseph Heathcock,
who lived at Hayes House in Colonel Spratt was a
comparatively wealthy man and as such was able to purchase land in False doctrine began to infiltrate
the mission in the guise of the Plymouth Brethren. Their undue influence over
Colonel Spratt coupled with some questionable religious beliefs led to
dissension among the leaders, compelling some members to leave the Gospel
Hall community and found the Bethel Society which is now Bethel Chapel.
Consequently Colonel Spratt’s mission floundered and eventually he sold the
Gospel Hall, whence it became a clothing factory known as J Clewitts.
However, despite the closure of the Gospel Hall as place of Christian
fellowship, and Colonel Spratt’s disappointment at the failure of his
mission, his generosity towards the people of Lye was warmly remembered, the
Bethel archives record that he was an honoured guest a Bethel service in the
late 1890’s. Sadly the main part of the hall was destroyed by fire on January 5th 1910.
The small Gospel Hall we see today was the original vestry of the main
building and managed to survive the fire. Happily, after the fire the hall
was reinstated as a place of Christian worship and remained so well into the
first half of the twentieth century. Sporting Memories In common with many churches
at the turn of 19th century
Back Row: D H Dickens, Ben
Phillips, Will Share, Ben Taylor, Will Newey Middle Row: Tom Knowles (club
secretary) James Gordon, J H Dunn, George Share, Harry Smith, Amos Perrins,
Sam Barnbrookes Front Row: G H Hill, Isaiah
Moss, Ted Perks, R Moss, W Partridge 1930 saw the founding of the
Bethel Sports and Social Club, which proved to be a great success. Initially,
billiards was a popular winter pastime, although the magazine regretted that
as yet they had not been able to find an indoor pursuit for the ladies!! The
club boasted cricket and football teams as well as being prominent in the
local bowling and billiards leagues. In time Bethel tennis teams played
for the local church cup as well as
the ‘Presidents Cup’ for singles, this cup is often still on view in church
being used for floral displays. The On a more sedate level the
Beetle Drive held in the relative comfort of the hut proved to be a popular
draw for the unattached looking for companionship (this information was volunteered
by the late Mrs Norris) although, it was equally popular with the attached
who were looking for thrills After the war Lye entered a
period of change with young people having to move out of the area in order to
find housing, and the pitches became overgrown. I am informed that a happy
and well fed pony grazed them for a while!! House building in the 70’s saw a
new influx of young people in Lye and On Friday 17 July 1987 the
One Way Club was launched by Jacqui Shilton and The purchase of a skittle
alley in the 90’s led to many a happy Steve and all the dedicated people that help
him, make sure that all of the Jesus
wants us to enjoy life in all its fullness and to this end Bethel’s sporting
tradition enables people to enjoy the physical gifts that God has given, such
as the pleasure of running, enduring, competing and sometimes winning. The
book of Hebrews assures us that this
is good training for running and winning the race of life that God asks us to
complete, for our good and for the good of all his Church. Amen. Christmastime Memories Christmas has always been a busy
time for the church that meets at Towards the end of 1944
Bethelites decided to launch the projector fund and in true By Christmas 1945 the war
had ended and Bethelites were looking forward the first peacetime Christmas
for five years. Whilst giving thanks for the return of many of their young
men, there was sadness for those that had been lost to the The magazine for November/January 1945
records ‘If the world is to be saved from passing through another period
of chaos and destruction, it will be by the Christian influence of humble men
and women whose lives have been consecrated and dedicated to God and the
service of others’ faith filled words are timeless and they are as
salutary today as they were in 1945. December 1986 newsletter
records how the Bethel Mums and Toddlers group celebrated its first birthday
on 18th November. The occasion was marked by a mini party with
cake for all. The outreach was started by our own Mrs Bloomer, whilst Madge
Nativity from
late ‘80’s Shepherds: Gareth
Harvey, Luke Bartlett?? Angels: Samantha
Harvey, Innkeeper:
Russell Prentice, Joseph: Tom
Woodhouse, Mary: Emily Gould With the 1986 Christmas
Carol service looming it was decided that in order for the children to
practise adequately, Sunday School would be extended to midday!!!!!. For
anyone who remembers just how cold the hut was, it will come as no surprise
to learn that there were those who preferred stay at home in the warm rather
than brave one and a half hours in that bracing atmosphere; these less hardy
souls were enticed back by the promise of continuous heat, courtesy of the
two recently purchased fan heaters!!! The now traditional candlelit Christmas
carol service began in the 1980’s with the call going out to members to lend
their family silver to illuminate the service. Whilst the children looked
resplendent as only children can in stripy recycled sheets, tea towels, and
tinsel, the congregation shed a tear, as we will surely do this year, as we
experience yet again the wonder of the birth of the infant Jesus, as
re-enacted by the youngest members of our church family. Looking through By Val Woodhouse April Memories Bethel Chapel building as we know it today, first opened its doors and
invited everyone in for public worship on 2nd April 1900. Contrary to
what could well be popular assumption the service was held on a Monday
afternoon. Mr E Lucas presided and congratulated the fellowship upon their
labours, for many of them had worked on the building in their spare time in
order to reduce costs as much as possible. The sermon was taken from Acts 11:
19-21. Mr Lucas likened the founders of ‘a
few earnest men whose only qualification, and that a perfectly sufficient
one, was that they had received the divine truth, and were constrained to
give utterance to the faith that was in them.’ (County Express 7th April 1900) The opening was followed by a public tea for 200 people
and evening worship. On 1st April 1936 Bethelites were still
digesting a sausage and mash supper held the night before, which was
organised by the Bethel Organ Fund Committee. Apparently, a good night was
had by all who partook, consuming 144lbs of potatoes and 25lbs of sausages
between them!!! Their efforts were not in vain, we still enjoy the beautiful
sounds of the prized reed organ. By 1940 the
Second World War was overshadowing the life of all British citizens. The
members of Coming to more
modern times, the 16th
April 2000 saw the first ever Icebreaker wedding. It was a very joyous
occasion when Miss Helen Lees said ‘I do’
to Mr |
