Enfield CircuitThe London District |
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History of Oakwood Methodist
Church |
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Other churches in this Circuit: |
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With the extension of the Piccadilly
Tube in the years before the Second World War, new housing estates sprang up at
Enfield West and Cockfosters. Finsbury Park Circuit quickly realised its
responsibility for nurturing Methodism in this neighbourhood and, in 1938,
the present site in Westpole Avenue was acquired. From a well-attended
meeting of local Methodists at The Bourne emerged the nucleus of the new
Methodist Society, and weekly services were held at the house of Mrs Lambert
in Westpole Avenue. Soon the trustees had to decide between using a wooden
hut on the site and converting a shop in Station Parade into a temporary
church. They wisely chose the latter, and "The Church in the Shop"
would be the Oakwood Methodist Society's home for 11 wonderful years. With the outbreak of war, the
congregation began to disperse, and the Oakwood Methodist Society passed into
a period of crisis for the few who remained. During the closing months of the
war, the Revd Fred Pratt Green was appointed to Oakwood, and the church
received a new stimulus. |
In 1949 building work began on a
permanent sanctuary at Westpole Avenue, and this was opened in 1950 (the
building shown on the right in the photo). It served the congregation for
nine years, until the present church sanctuary, which opened in 1959, was
built alongside (the building on the left in the photo). The 1950 building was then converted for
use as the main hall of the church. In 1999 Oakwood celebrated its 60th
anniversary and continues to be very much alive in spite of dwindling
numbers. We have a regular Prayer Meeting, Fellowship Bible Study, House
Group, a thriving Parent and Toddler Group, two Men's Compass Clubs, Women's
Wednesday Club and Senior and Junior Table Tennis Clubs. We sponsor a Girl's
Brigade, are supporting our third child through Bible Lands, and give
considerable sums to charities. We have a small but dedicated Sunday School,
and seek to maintain a true family fellowship, as we witness to our faith in
Jesus Christ as Lord, and to the Glory of God in Oakwood and Cockfosters. |
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