History of Christ Church St Albans

Christ Church is really the community of people you meet here, and our prayer is that you will be made to feel very welcome in all your encounters with us and that you might experience God working among us. Perhaps, though, you are wondering how we came to be here, as there hasn't always been a church in this area.

Christ Church Centre was first opened in 1980 and was looked upon as a CENTRE for worship on Sundays and for fellowship and service within the community throughout the week. The original nineteenth century romanesque Christ Church in Verulam Road still exists but has been virtually rebuilt inside and turned to commercial use. In the early 1970s it was clear that not only was the cost of maintaining the old building becoming prohibitive, it was also in the wrong place! If you imagine the Parish as roughly pear-shaped, Verulam Road is actually the stalk end! The "core" is up here in New Greens and it was felt that the old church was not really serving the bulk of the parishioners.

For some years a daughter church, St.Andrews, had held services on this site in a "temporary" wooden building which you probably saw as you came in. (This is currently called either the "Lighthouse" or affectionately "the shack" and is used mainly for the young people's groups.) It was therefore decided to close Christ Church, Verulam Road. In October 1974 its congregation moved and we all started worshipping together at St. Andrews while the new Centre was being planned and eventually built.

We thank God for the vision that led up to this, for the prayers and sacrificial giving of many within Christ Church and friends in other churches who also supported us, but above all for God's lavish provision, without which our Centre would never have been built.