The Big Sing
We outreach to the village and beyond working and sharing celebrations with the Parish Church.
Annually in the summer we have an open air Big Sing in Meldyke Square with accompaniment from a brass band. We usually have 80+ people in good voice. The event is led by our Minister and the Vicar. Similarly at Christmas we join with the Parish Church and have the Village Carol Service in the Memorial Hall. Our ecumenical link dates back to 1990 when the then Vicar presented the Minister at the time with the Bible we use to this day. It was given in celebration of the Chapel's 150 anniversary.
We are very fortunate to have the Memorial Hall available when we need it and thank the Memorial Hall committee for their kindness.
We do participate and support many of the village events in the hall and every other year our Minister leads a short Act of Remembrance. This takes place on Remembrance Saturday during the weekly coffee morning.
We reach out to Middlesbrough Food Bank by giving the non-perishable food donations we receive for the Harvest Festival. Also we gave the monetary donations we received at the Big Sing to the Unicorn Centre ( Riding for the disabled).
There is also a wayside pulpit on the exterior Chapel wall which displays posters conveying quotes, readings and pictures with a message to all passers by.
History
The Chapel is the oldest in the Middlesbrough and Eston Methodist Circuit and has an interesting past. During WW2 it was used as a billet for soldiers and then leased to North Riding County Council for 1 shilling a week for the storage of emergency supplies. In 1997 major alterations were carried out to the interior. Piped water was brought to the premises for the first time and a ' kitchen in a cupboard' and toilet were installed.
(Photos before and after refurbishment)
Today
It is a one room building with a raised platform for the communion table, pulpit, lectern, electric organ and removeable altar rail. There are arrangeable chairs capable of seating 40 people. We have a small fluctuating membership and a nucleus of regular worshippers who are ready to commit to and share the word of God. We have a CCL music licence and portable microphone system.
We do not have a licence to hold weddings but in 2016 and 2017 we had 2 baptisms which were the first to be taken in the Chapel for over 150 years.
Stainton Methodist Church
