Holbrooks' Gospel

I was pleased to participate in the wedding of one of our members at Holbrooks Evangelical Church, Coventry, this autumn. Its website, which is remarkably helpful, explains why it was founded at the back end of Edward’s reign:

…About 1910, various members became so dissatisfied with the preaching or teaching that about 20 men and their families left and formed a new Church. The first meetings were held in a shed…

This sounds like it could have been 2010- there is nothing new under the sun! The new building, which dates to 1970, was formally opened by The Doctor. Few post-war nonconformist chapels have stained glass and steeples, but Holbrooks has both. Its building is both modern and comfortable but without resembling a leisure centre or canteen block like many others. It 'looks like a church’ but without appearing as lamb dressed as mutton.

Buildings do not really matter; what goes on inside them and the congregation’s submission to God’s word is vital. Yet Holbrook’s building quite clearly resembles a ‘sacred space’ when many others imply opting for the merely functional. There is a certain beauty about it, even if it pales like a candle before the sun when compared to the message preached from its pulpit for fifty-five years.