Long Street Methodist, Middleton, Manchester
The Harvest service this morning was led by Mrs Pamela Sewart, a long time serving member of the Church and Local Preacher. The service was based on articles from All We Can, the Methodist charity, with Pamela including such ‘old time’ favourites as, ‘We plough the fields and scatter’ and ‘All things bright and beautiful’. Produce donated will be taken to the Lighthouse Project and a further collection next week will be sent to All We Can for their relief work. We thank Pamela for leading the worship today.
The Church was open this morning to start the Harvest Celebration. Beverages, biscuits and cake, were served from 10.30am followed by a potato pie /cheese pie lunch (no charge) for all who entered. The chancel steps were decorated, others sat and chatted, while some stood and talked or helped with the craftwork. Thank you to all the helpers.
Art Exhibition with original work by Edgar Wood, Frederick W Jackson and Dame Laura Knight, James W Booth and G A E Schwabe (Bertie)
A sketching workshop with local artist, Steve Whitworth and music by the ‘Friday Ensemble’. Video
A successful final afternoon for HODs 2024, with over 450 visitors across the five days .
A big thank you also, to all who helped to make the event so rewarding for the visitors. This includes paintings on loan from private collections, Touchstones On Tour, drop in Art Workshops with Erica Matthews, stewards and helpers from the Edgar Wood Society and Greater Manchester Building Preservation Trust for hosting the event in their Grade 2* listed building.
There was an added treat to the HODs weekend, with an excellent lecture by Dr. Anne Anderson. on Friday evening. This led into today’s busy and successful event, in addition to the exhibition, Erica Matthews was running her second drop in Art Workshop and the Touchstones Community staff had brought their Collections on Tour Exhibition.
Thank you once again to all who helped to make the day so informative and pleasurable for the many visitors.
Today, in addition to our art exhibition, Shakra from the Local Studies section of Touchstones (Rochdale Museum and Arts service), brought along a display about Edgar Wood and Frederick Jackson. She has been combing the digital newspaper archives for references to Edgar Wood which gave us some interesting new findings. Rachel and Bryan, also from Touchstones, came along to help.
Yesterday was full on, today was even busier. Why is Sunday a more popular day?
Local artist Steve Whitworth held a drop in sketching session where inspiration had to be gained from the building.
Members of the Edgar Wood Society led a walk around the Conservation Area and EW’s buildings, while others greeted, informed and brewed up.
The first day of HODs was full on, with thanks to all the hard work by volunteers in the preparation of the Art exhibition and stewarding by members of the Edgar Wood Society.
Among the visitors it was good to see the MP for Heywood and Middleton North, Elsie Blundell. Also visiting were Middleton Councillors, Elizabeth Atewologun and Katherine Bromfield.
Today’s activities included a drop in Art session led by Erica Matthews of Creative Health and tomorrow’s event is, sketching with local artist Steve Whitworth.
On Saturday afternoon 23rd March, the Church hosted a community event with over 60 adults and children attending. Catering was for 50, but as with the loaves and fishes, there was plenty of food, and a lot left over. Various activities were on offer, face painting, bead threading, jig saws, quizzes to name but a few. Thank you to all who made this such a good afternoon and not a play station in sight!
Using the guide lines from All We Can (allwecan.org.uk) the Methodist overseas charity, the service was led by the Church Stewards.
There was a collection for All We Can and a packet and tin food collection for the local food bank, based at the Lighthouse project in Middleton. The link below will show that 55.1 Kg of food items were delivered.
MCFB Thank you certifcate 2023 – Harvest collection Long Street Methodist Church Sept 23
Coffee and tea is normally served after the Sunday service, but on 10 Sept. there was an extra special coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Coffee (or tea) was vailable with a selection of cakes and various sweet delights. Thank you to Margaret and David for organising the event and all those for supporting the Macmillan Nurses.
To coincide with the Heritage Open days, we are pleased to have Steve with us to exhibit his artwork in the Church. Come along and look at this Edgar Wood building and Steve’s work. Have a chat to him over a cup of tea/coffee or he may even be sketching. Bring a cheque book just in case something takes your liking. 
Opening Times are: 1.00 to 4.00pm Saturday and Sunday 9, 10, 16, 17 Sept. and Wednesday 13 Sept. 
The Long Street Methodist Church and Schoolrooms are open for visitors between 1 and 4pm on the following dates in September:
Saturday 9th , Sunday 10th , Wednesday 13th , Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th
‘The chapel is a knockout’ says the latest Pevsner Guide. Designed by architect Edgar Wood and completed in 1901 it is an Arts and Crafts delight, with aspects of Gothic, Art Nouveau and Modernism intertwined. A walking guide to other Edgar Wood buildings nearby is available from the church.
You can park 3 hours for free at nearby Market Place car park M24 6AE but must display a ticket from the machine with your arrival time.
More details are available on the Heritage Open web site www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visit click on visit and enter the post code M24 6UN
The Crumpsall History Society visited the Church followed by a tour of the Conservation Area and the Edgar Wood houses. They had previously booked a talk about ‘that remarkable Manchester architect’, but there is nothing better than seeing things first hand. Their visit also gave the gardener a welcome break, unfortunately there were no offers of help!
If any groups would like to visit the Church and School Rooms or have a guided tour of the local EW properties email: edgarwood society.org for further information.
A Memorial Service was held in the Church today at 4.00pm. The service was for the bereaved relatives and friends of those who had died during and since the start of the pandemic. This is usually an annual service, but owing to covid it has not taken place since 2019. It was a quiet and reflective service and members of the congregation were invited to light candles in memory of their loved ones.
Thank you Sharon
The Harvest Service took place today, led by our minister, the Rev. Sharon Read. The Church supported two charities with their gifts, dried and canned food for the Food Bank in Middleton. 
The second cause was for money donations to the Methodist charity, All We Can. All We Can support a group of Tonga people who live in the Binga district in the Zambezi valley and were forcibly displaced by the creation of Lake Kariba by the colonial government. With the support of All We Can, a group of ladies have been helped to deveope weaving skills and access markets to sell their baskets. As a result children are able to go to school, and goats can be bought for additional family income.
The banner for this year’s Heritage Open Days was taken down at 4.00pm today after another successful year of opening to the public. The Church and School Rooms opened for five afternoon sessions during the designated period of HODs.
Thank you to the members of the Edgar Wood Society for organising and stewarding the open days, without whose help this event would not have take place.
If you were in the Scouts, Guides or Youth Club in the 70’s at Long Street Methodist Church you may well rememberJohn Chamberlain and Katherine ….?
They were down from Yorkshire attending a reunion of the above and joined the morning service,talked about the ‘old ‘times, friends and had a walk around the building, remembering as it was and surprised about the changes following the restoration.
Thank you for coming and sharing your memories of time at Long Street.
