We've all got a story, and St Paul’s Barrow is no different.
And really our story is about a whole bunch of different stories all coming together.
Some of us have been living in our town since we were born. Some of us moved to Barrow more recently. And some of us live and work across the Furness peninsula.
Similarly, some of us have been committed Christians for decades. Some of us are brand new to Christianity. Others of us are just exploring. Some of us are still in nappies. Some of us are officially 'retired'. And of course there's a whole spectrum in between.
But we'd all say that our lives have found meaning and purpose and hope as we've found our place in God's Story. So whoever you are, whatever your story is, you're really welcome.
Our story is a story about people and God
When we hear the word 'church' we often think about a particular type of building or a service, but, at it’s heart, church is about gathering together as a community of people who seek to love and serve our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And just as our church is made-up of individual stories, so any church’s story is connected into the much bigger story of God’s work across the globe and through history.
The start of the St Paul's story.
In 1843, when Barrow was first developing as a mining boom town, a schoolroom was built on Abbey Road, just beyond the current site of St Paul’s. This was also used for worship services on Sunday afternoons, before being demolished to widen the main road into Barrow. A new school was subsequently built on Hawcoat Lane in 1877, which remains as the Church Hall today.
In time a decision was made to build a traditional church building on the junction of Abbey Road, known locally as ‘Four Lane Ends’, at a cost of £2000. It was dedicated ‘to the service of God’ in 1871, which was also the year that the Barrow Shipbuilding Company was founded. The church was named St Paul’s, after the apostle Paul, one of the first followers of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
As generations have come and gone, so various changes have been made to our building over the years. Yet as a previous minister of St Paul’s, Rev. Frank Dean, wrote on the 100th anniversary of the St Paul’s building in 1971, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed, and that’s the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this ‘good news’ that it is our privilege to cherish, live by, and proclaim, just as the apostle Paul did two thousand years ago.
Two churches becoming One.
In recent years, St Paul’s entered a new chapter when it merged with another church, Grace Church Barrow. In 2015 a group of Christians from the Roose & Holbeck area of Barrow had started meeting to pray for their area, and in 2017 this became Grace Church.
During the summer of 2020, Grace Church and St Paul’s began prayerfully exploring the possibility of merging together, and in the September both churches committed to becoming one church.
In July 2021 we held a weekend of celebration to give thanks to God, both for 150 years of ministry and mission through St Paul’s and for the coming together of Grace Church and St Paul’s. Whilst we have retained the name ‘St Paul’s Barrow’, we’re aware this is a new chapter for all of us but we believe we’re ‘better together’.
St Paul’s Barrow is part of the Barrow Mission Community, a network of churches across our town that want to show, share & speak of the ‘life in all its fullness’ that is found in Jesus.
Could your story be part of this story?
Of course, our stories are all just part of a much bigger story, God's story. We have a God who takes these stories and weaves them into his plan and purposes.
So what about you? What’s your story? We’re convinced that finding your place in His story is the greatest adventure.
So why not come and be part of this next chapter at St Paul’s Barrow, as we seek to follow Jesus together and invite others to find their lives in his Story.
