Alpha
Bill Miles brought Alpha to TBC from Holy Trinity Brompton in January 1995, and we were
in the first wave of a massive expansion of Alpha throughout the world.
Alpha Groups offer a simple starter course in Christianity to complete outsiders
- in a modern style on ten evenings each with a meal, a video presentation, and a discussion group.
Badminton Club
The Ladies' Badminton Club which meets every Thursday morning began its sessions in January 1982.
It has been supplemented for the past few years by an informal Badminton session for young people every Monday evening.
Learn about badminton at TBC today
Band of Hope
Teddington Baptist Church set up a branch of the Band of Hope in 1886
but a change from fermented to unfermented (non-alcoholic) communion wine
was not made until 1889.
The theme of temperance was a popular one in the early years of the Church with a
well-attended Temperance Society (sometimes called the Total Abstinence Society) being founded in December 1901
and meeting alongside the Band of Hope for many years.
In addition, a Branch of the Baptist Abstainers' League was founded in the 1920s.
The concern over temperance also came up at Church Meetings: in 1913 the Church Meeting refused to approve a motion that
all church members should be total abstainers (the proposer could not even get a seconder)
A further motion to require all church leaders to be total abstainers was withdrawn by the proposer
after the Minister had spoken to the meeting.
However, the issue became a live one in the church again in 1943 when the Deacons resolved
that all church organisations should include "some useful reference in favour of temperance at least once a month".
There then followed the issue of an information sheet and for some months articles in favour
of temperance appeared in the monthly magazine, the Record.
In the 1990s, we have an association with Alcoholics Victorious which is the Christian equivalent of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The Band of Hope still exists and now operates under the name Hope UK
on a broad programme of education on alcohol and drug abuse.
Its Director visited TBC in 1997.
For information about Hope UK go to its website
Bible Study Groups
The whole Church has usually met mid-week for prayer and Bible study over the years.
But in addition other smaller groups have often met for Bible study - for example the Men's Bible Class which was meeting in the home of Mr and Mrs Durrell found itself so short of room in 1905 that it had to rent a room at the local Radical Club.
Another such group was the Blackboard Bible School established by Rev Horn in 1906 which met for many years, promoting a love for the study of God's Word.
A Men's Bible Study Group began in about 1985 when two or three retired men from the Church visited a sick colleague on Wednesday evenings. Some sixteen men have been involved with this group but by 1998 it had dwindled of six men from three different churches and it closed in about 2002.
Boys' Brigade
The national foundation of the Boys' Brigade was October 1883, at North Woodside Mission Hall, in Glasgow by Sir William Alexander Smith.
It was the first of all the voluntary uniformed organisations for boys and girls which have since spread all over the world.
The BB now operates in over 60 countries worldwide with its motto the same as at its foudnation "Sure and Steadfast".
Its founder was knighted in 1909 in recognition of his work through the Boys' Brigade.
The 1st Teddington Company of the Boys' Brigade was formed in 1892 and for several years flourished under the Captaincy of Mr A C Deayton, aided by Mr F Willett and others.
In 1901 the place of meeting was transferred to Christ Church Schols in Station Road and continued there for another six years.
Visit the Boys' Brigade UK national website
Choir
The Choir was founded in 1895 and for existed as a formal church organisation until the 1980s.
For many years (1919-1946) it was under the direction of Mr R F Brett who led it to local and national success in competitions like the Free Church Choir Union Festivals at the old Crystal Palace.
It played a key role in the worship of the church until the late 1970s.
For many years the Choir would sit behind the minister as he led worship from the pulpit.
Then when it was time for the sermon, they would move to one of the side galleries.
In recent years, with more flexible worship patterns, the Church has had its singing led on special occasions by choirs formed for the event.
In addition, a small singing group (two or three people) often leads worship especially when new songs are being introduced.
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Christian Endeavour
The very first meeting anywhere of Christian Endeavour was on 2 February 1881 at the Williston Congregational Church, Portland, Maine, U.S.A., when the Pastor, the Reverend Francis E. Clarke gathered his young people together, following a revival in his church.
That meeting resulted in an inspired concept of planned ongoing spiritual growth and activity for Christ and the Church.
The group adopted the title Christian Endeavour, the Members Pledge, and the motto "For Christ and the Church".
At this first CE meeting 57 young people signed the Members Pledge and became foundation members of Christian Endeavour.
TBC established a Christian Endeavour in its early years but it was replaced in 1923 by a Young People's Fellowship.
However, TBC's Christian Endeavour had been revived by the late 1940s when there was a "very energetic Christian Endeavour Society".
Football Team
TBC had two successful football teams in the 1930s but then for many years the only football match was the occasional game between the Church and Scouts.
However, in 1985 Adrian Smith, a Chessington player at the time, had moved to TBC and found fellow footballers who reckoned they should form a team.
Adrian declared himself Captain, but wouldn't have got far without John Byers and Paul Barker who largely ran the team's affairs.
In their first season, 1985, the new team managed only one win and one draw and came second from bottom in the Southern Area Christian Football League.
Subsequent seasons proved that TBC's greatest quality was consistency as they never came far from the bottom of the league.
By the 1991-92, pressures of losing and of other commitments meant that TBC failed to start in the League until Jonathan Ivey rescued the position and TBC then had to complete the season having lost a number of matches by default.
However, the team won three games and that proved to be a turning point.
In 1992-93 five games were won and in 1993-94 seven wins were recorded.
In 1994-95 TBC finally won as many games as they lost and finished in the top half of the League.
The following year (1995-96) TBC finished the season with a share of the League trophy and during that season began an unbeaten League run which lasted from December 1995 until April 1998.
This meant that the team went the whole of the 1996-97 League season undefeated (Played 22; Won 16; Drawn 6; Lost 0; Goal difference +62).
The 1997-98 season brought even more success as TBC retained their League title (not losing until it was safely in the bag) and completed the League and Cup Double by beating Molesey Community Church 8-1 in the Cup Final.
Before the 1998-99 season, the TBC Football Team were considering what League they might set their sights on conquering next (Premier? European?).
In the end inertia won and they remained in the Southern Area Christian Football League but struggled during the first half of the season only just winning more games than they lost, but
somehow celebrating Christmas joint top of the League with Richmond.
Girls' Life Brigade
and Girls' Brigade
The Girls' Life Brigade was established as a national movement in 1893 with the aim of winning girls for Christ.
It changed its name to the Girls Brigade in 1965.
TBC established the 1st Teddington Girls' Life Brigade Company in October 1915.
The Company was originally formed under the leadership of Miss L K Elms with six officers and seventeen girls.
It quickly grew to over seventy within three years.
The Company was used to introduce other churches in the area to the GLB and at one time the founder officers were running four Companies in the area.
The Teddington GLB Company flourished under its early Captains Miss L K Elms and Miss F B Matthews.
From time to time the Company went through lean years but it was very strong during the 1970s and early 1980s under the leadership of
Jackie Wood and Marilyn Holder.
However, by the late 1980s the Company had difficulty recruiting new officers to replace those who were retiring.
The reluctant decision was taken in 1990 that it would have to close - an event which coincided with its 75th anniversary.
Keep Fit
TBC seems to have had a number of Keep Fit groups - sometimes Gymnasium Classes - throughout its history.
- In 1914, TBC set up a Gymnasium Class;
- By 1921 the GLB had a Gymnasium Class of its own;
- In the 1930s there was a Gymnasium Club led by the "pint-sized" Mr Meek;
- In the mid-1990s, Elizabeth Hicks led a ladies aerobics class;
- In the 1998, Richard Nerurkar set up a circuit training group;
Men's Work
The Baptist Men's Movement found its expression in Teddington through the Men's Fellowship which was founded
in 1950 and continued meeting into the 1980s.
Men's work has not been emphasised in recent years although there is a Men's Bible Study
and some efforts at friendship evangelism built around sporting interests like
the TBC Football Team plus Fantasy Football and Cricket Leagues
Visit the Baptist Men's Movement (BMM) website
Open Door
Open Door is a drop-in morning for people with small children.
It was set up under the leadership of Joan Blyth in 1982 meeting on Wednesday mornings.
Another morning session was added in 1984.
By 1998 it was meeting on three mornings a week and was having to restrict attendance to avoid over-crowding.
Learn about Open Door at TBC today
Pastoral Groups
Pastoral care has been conducted through a variety of formal and informal arrangements.
The expectation that one person (the Minister) could give pastoral care across a large Church has never been realistic.
It became impossible to rely upon informal pastoral care during the 1970s as patterns of life were changing with fewer people at home during the day.
In 1979 the Church set aside four Deacons to be Pastoral Deacons (John Cant, Ernie Holder, Santi Pellicer, and Ray Alexander).
Out of that grew a system of home groups in which every member of the fellowship was assigned to a home group (usually on a geographical basis) under a home group leader.
The home group system was made the basis of our system of pastoral care in 1986The groups met mid-week for prayer and Bible study and were charged with mutual pastoral care for all those assigned as members of their home group whether they attended the meetings or not.
The home group leaders were overseen by area leaders - in 1990 the area leaders were Geoff and Jenny Goodway, Graham and Ruth Hayman and Colin and Elizabeth Hicks.
This system was replaced in 1996 by a Pastoral Link system in which a larger number of people took prime responsibility for the pastoral care of a group of up to ten people.
This system did not involve regular meetings but it also carried over the suppport given to carers by area leaders.
Prayer Groups
The Church has usually met mid-week for prayer and Bible study over the years.
But in addition other ways of providing prayer support for the life of the church and its outreach have been sought.
In the 1990s a prayer chain established to provide a way in which urgent prayer requests could reach as many people as possible very quickly (usually by telephone).
Pre-School Group
The TBC Play Group was established in the early 1980s under the leadership of Kath Dunlop.
She was succeeded as leader by Jane Pirson and in 1996-97 the name was changed to Pre-School Group so it would be eligible for government finance under the nursery voucher scheme. But the expansion of state provision and wider competition meant that numbers of children fell and it was closed in 2003 when it was unable to pay its way.
Pre-School Group was more formal than most TBC organisations.
It met every morning in term-time, at its peak it had about thirty children aged 2½ to 4½, charged for attendance, its workers were paid, it had to have qualified leaders and it was inspected by Ofsted (official school inspectors) and the local Council's Social Services.
Scouts
When Baden-Powell returned to England after Mafeking, he
discovered that many boys and young men were avidly reading his book
Aids to Scouting. This book was intended as a military training
manual, teaching soldiers techniques such as observation, tracking,
initiative... He met with various influential people in youth movements across the
country, and was pursuaded to write a version of Aids to
Scouting aimed at teenage boys. Scouting for Boys was
published in 1908 (after a camp on Brownsea
Island, Poole Harbour, Dorset, where Baden-Powell tried out his ideas on
four patrols of boys from London and Bournemouth).
Baden-Powell had originally intended the scheme outlined in Scouting for Boys
to supplement the programmes of youth organisations that already existed (like the Boys' Brigade). But boys not in other youth
movements bought the book, and set themselves up as Patrols of Scouts,
and quickly found themselves leaders to train them. It was soon
realised that some form of organisation was required to support these
Scouts and the Scout Association opened its first offices in 1909.
The 1st Teddington (Baptist) Boy Scout Troop was set up in January 1915 with Mr W T R Alexander as its first Scoutmaster.
By 1923 the Troop had developed into a Group with a Cub Pack and Rover Crew.
The TBC Scouts were one of the first in the country to introduce a mixed Venture Unit.
The weekend of the 15th-16th February 1975 saw over 100 men coming together to look
back over 60 years of scouting in the Church - their Diamond Jubilee. A memorable occasion
especially for Mr 'Alec' (Mr William Alexander) who attended the celebrations
- he had been the first Scoutmaster back in 1915. The Church was reminded of the tremendous influence exerted
over hundreds of boys and young men through the years, an opportunity
that continues today.
In 1984 a Beaver Colony was added to the Scout Group.
In 2001, the church found itself unable to identify sufficient leaders from within the fellowship,
and so on 1 September 2001, after 86 years, the 1st Teddington (Baptist) Scout Group ceased to
be sponsored by Teddington Baptist Church.
Visit the Scouts UK national website
Sunday School and Sunday Groups
The Sunday School has been at the heart of the children's and youth work of TBC since its foundation in 1881.
An early reference in the church records is to a Sunday School treat in 1883 and in 1907 the Sunday School had
what appears to be one of its regular outings - this one being to to celebrate its anniversary and it was to Box Hill in Surrey.
The Sunday School Buildings (details) were built to house a growing Sunday School which had 360 attending in 1911, over 500 in 1914, and 565 in 1918.
At that time the Sunday School met on Sunday afternoons and their was a Young Worshipper's League which met during the morning service.
During the 1960s a decline in attenance at Sunday School became very evident and attendance fell to about 250.
It was found that with the advent of the "family car" more and more people were spending their Sundays for recreation taking the whole family out into the country.
It was decided to switch to a morning Sunday School with the children joining in the first part of worship for a Family Service.
For a time the afternoon Sunday School was continued but soon this was discontinued.
(A proposal at the time to start an All-Age Sunday School was not pursued to the disappointment of Rev Valentine.)
Until the 1980s, the children would meet with their teachers in the Sunday School buildings and then walk into Church and sit together as a Sunday School in the front few pews.
However, the changing patterns of family life have meant that few children from outside the fellowship now attend the Sunday School and numbers have continued to decline.
Until the end of the 1970s there could easily be over 100 children in the Sunday School on any particular Sunday, but in recent years that has fallen to no more than thirty-five children and young people.
In 2000, it was decided to drop the name "Sunday School" and use the term Sunday Groups for the continuing work among children and
young people on Sundays.
Teddington Lawn Tennis Club
Teddington Baptist Church Sunday School formed a lawn tennis club in 1908.
This club began by using courts owned by Charles Deayton which they rented for £10 a year.
In 1914 the club moved to a site in Vicarage Road which it still uses today.
On moving, it changed its name from the Queens Road Tennis Club to Teddington Lawn Tennis Club.
The Club is still operating in Vicarage Road but no longer has any connection with the Church.
The Souvenir Jubilee History 1908-1958 of Teddington Lawn Tennis Club written by A G Medway says:
The first written record of the Club is of a meeting held in the Baptist Sunday School Library on March 19th, 1910, with 12 members present. However, it is quite clear from information supplied by Miss May Dawson that the Club was actually formed as early as 1908. Mainly instrumental in forming the Club were the Simmons brothers and sisters, who were members of Teddington Baptist Church, but it was not, in fact, a Baptist Club. Rather it drew its membership from the various free churches in the area. As far as can be ascertained, Mr. Dence, of Christ Church, was the Club's first President, Wilfred Simmons, Honorary Secretary, and Sydney Allison, a deacon of the Baptist Church, Honorary Treasurer, with a probable Committee of Hamilton Simmons, Alec Wiseman, Robert West, Ruby Grant and Elsie Simmons.
It is not, perhaps, surprising to find the Club with this background, for at that time the Churches took the main initiative in starting ventures of this kind, just as so much of the social life of the community was found in the Church.
The ground was not then on its present site, but in Queen's Road, Teddington, and the Club was known as the Queen's Road Lawn Tennis Club. This ground belonged to Charles Deayton, who was also the deacon of the Baptist Church, and a part owner of Deayton's Stores, later to become Williamson's. The rent was £10 a year and members paid a subscription of 10s 6d. and provided their own balls. The Club started with three grass courts, a fourth being laid a year or two later. There was no pavilion, but a large shed was available in which to keep deck chairs. Incidentally, each member provided his or her own chair if required; there was a wooden bench for those who thought this an unnecessary luxury. Shelter from the sun or a light shower was provided by a large chestnut tree. Catering was done by the use of the scullery of Mr. Deayton's house, which adjoined the ground. The Club met in the summer only and had a membership of about 26.
Some comment on dress might be of interest. The ladies all wore long skirts and some of them even wore a train, but, as Miss Dawson so aptly puts it, "these were not the experts". The system was to serve the ball, almost certainly under-arm, grab the skirts and, "dash forward to hit the ball, usually arriving too late." The "players" allowed their skirts just to clear the ground, to allow freedom of movement. Sleeves were worn long and banded at the wrist, collars were high and well supported, and a nice large hat usually completed the picture. The gentlemen's dress was more conventional, even if shorts were unknown, but those who wished to cut a dashing appearance finished off their "waist line" with a brilliantly coloured "cummerbund."
Place in TBC History |
Learn about sport at TBC today
Women's Work
There have been many different wonen's organisations down the years including the Women's Fellowship and the Ladies Evening Fellowship.
Young Worshipper's League
The League of Young Worshippers was established during the ministry of Rev James McCleery in 1916 to bridge the gap between Sunday School and Church.
Special pews were allocated to League members where they could sit if they wanted to, and register was kept of the attendance of members at Sunday morning service.
The YWL must have closed thereafter because it was refounded in 1930 "to encourage the attendance of children at Sunday morning worship".
By the late 1940s a Young Worshipper's League numbering some 80 was meeting on Sunday mornings.
The YWL closed when Sunday School moved to the afternoons under Rev Valentine in the 1960s.
Youth Work
TBC has had many forms of youth work over the years - for example:
- Boys' Brigade 1891-1908; (details)
- Christian Endeavour; (details)
- Crusaders
- Girls' Brigade 1915-1990; (details)
- Scouts 1915-present; (details)
- Spectrum Youth Club 1984-1997;
- Sunday School (details)
- Youth Clubs - at various times;
- Young Worshipper's League 1916-?; (details)
In 1996-98 we had a Frontline Team from Oasis Trust working with us.
The team of four young people (Thomas Graf, Chrissie Le Goupillot, Becky Owen, and Paul Unsworth) brought energy and enthusiasm to our work with children and young people.
Paul Unsworth stayed on with TBC for a further year.
By the time he left in July 1998, we were busy calling Richard Colpus to be our first full-time Youth Leader. He was with us until 2003. Then in 2004 Eli Hassoun was called to be our new Youth Pastor.
Mr Richard Colpus
(Youth Leader 1998-2003)
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Mr Eli Hassoun
(Youth Pastor 2004- )
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