Stibbard

The first Methodist church in Stibbard began with a class meeting in the kitchen of a farm house, between Stibbard and Fulmodeston which lasted for about 20 years.

In 1910, the stone was laid for Stibbard Wesleyan Methodist Church in Wood Norton Road. This was to be a grand little church.

It was completed in 1911. It is said that the business men and farmers attended Stibbard while the workers went to Fulmodeston.

In the 1930s the Methodist Churches united and this partly removed the class distinction of the church and Stibbard Methodist Church was open to all.

Nothing much changed for 50 years. In the 1980s with children in church, we needed a Sunday School and some modifications. First to go was the dangerous coke tortoise stove which was replaced with under pew heaters. Later the partition, which had woodworm, was removed, the pulpit was reduced in size, and the pews were removed and replaced with arm chairs.

A flush toilet was installed and the old Elsan toilet and glory hole were made into a kitchen, now fully fitted with dishwasher and cooker.

We moved into the 21st century with an I.T. system of laptop, digital projector and big screen.

We celebrated our centenary in 2010 and changed the name to Stibbard Methodist Church Centre as the church was changing its role in the community. It is now used not just on Sundays but through the week for meals, ecumenical meetings, circuit choir and quarterly quizzes. We also went onto worldwide web with www.stibbardmethodists.org.uk

We have managed to achieve so much and we thank God as we face tomorrow together.