Farewell to Fenny

A Celebration of the Life of Fenny Compton Church

Sunday 21st November saw a service of celebration for the life of Fenny Compton Methodists.

It was a service full of love and tinged with sadness as the current congregation of Fenny Compton said goodbye to the chapel which had served them and their forebears for nearly 2 centuries.

Fenny Compton Methodists started early in the 19th Century, when preachers from Northend arrived to spread the Gospel. They were met with a fair amount of opposition from locals but some years later, the preachers were accepted and the message they brought was received with gladness. And has been faithfully nurtured in the subsequent years. There were 2 Methodist congregations in the village – the Primitive Methodist and the Wesleyan Methodists, who merged in the Act of Union.

Approximately 60 people came to the service which was was led by Rev Dr Iain Ballard (Superintendent Minister of the Circuit) and the word was given by Rev Richard Wilde, the presbyter with pastoral charge of the church. Keith Hicks, Linda Coleman and Jane Knight gave some information on the history of the church and their recollections of worshipping at the church. The reading was taken from Philippians and Richard brought out the similarities between the early church at Philippi and the church at Fenny Compton. Both had encountered opposition at the start of their mission, both had women in positions of leadership and existed and met for some years before they had a building to worship in.

Although the church building is closing, the Society will continue to meet, so God's work will continue in the village of Fenny Compton.

Praise God for the faithfulness of Fenny Compton and for his continuing work there.