NorthernMoor.Org

My church has been homeless for three months now - it's hard to say where the experience has led us.

Unlike the "established" churches, which have recognisable buildings, the Community Church doesn't have a building of its own, and has met in a number of different locations since its establishment in 1988. For many years we had the use of Pier Hill School on Yew Tree Lane. That venue fitted well with our style because we were able to use a number of different rooms including the large gym, where our kids and teens could run around and play loud games.

When Piper Hill School moved to their new facility at St Paul's, the previous building was closed down, and the church moved to Rack House Primary School. In many ways Rack House was not such a good "fit" for us, but in some ways it was better. Unfortunately after just a few months we had to leave, because the caretaker was not allowed to open up for us on a Sunday. Our last Sunday meeting at Piper Hill was 6^th June.

We have looked at all the public venues in Northern Moor that are large enough to accommodate our church, but they're either unsuitable or unavailable on Sundays.

Over the summer we have had our Sunday meetings in St Michael's Community Hall, in Lawton Moor Methodist church, and even in Wythenshawe Park. We have also have a few "go out" days, where the whole church was involved in some community activity.

Now the summer is over and our future still looks uncertain, but it's not all doom and gloom. There's an old saying - the church is not really the building, but the group of people who worship inside the building. We have certainly proved that to be true over the last three months. Even though we don't have a home, we're still very much a church together.

Northern Moor Community Church will meet in the back hall of Lawton Moor Methodist Church on Sunday mornings in September. After that, we have no idea!