North of Scotland Methodist Mission Circuit - Aberdeen
Aberdeen Methodist Church, Crown Terrace, Aberdeen, AB11 2HE
Crown Terrace Aberdeen Methodist Church also have their own www.aberdeenmethodist.org.uk website.
The following is taken from the Minute of the Circuit Meeting of the 20th March 1999 at which Rev David Collinson, Superintendent Minister, gave an outline of the up-to-date situation of the church that the Members were sitting in :-
'A Methodist Society, one of the most historic in the circuit. In the late 1750s, when a citizen of Aberdeen, Dr Memyss, approached John Wesley to send a preacher and establish a society, John Wesley sent a Geordie lad in 1759 - Christopher Hopper.
A link between North East England and North East Scotland who had both seen seen some rough times in their history. There was to be a number of other links between these two areas over the following years bringing a strong connection between the success of Aberdeen Methodist church and the north east of England.
Scotland was known as North Britain in those days and Christopher Hopper proceeded to preach at 5am on the Castlegate. Under a hail of dead cats etc, he shared the meaning of Christ. He had a bit of a rough time to begin with would be regarded as a n understatement by the people of aberdeen but without that strong level of Christian commitment Aberdeen Methodist church would not now exist..
The founder of the methodist church John Wesley came himself in 1771, the first of 4 visits to Aberdeen, and established a Society (later becoming Aberdeen Methodist Church). Wesley, on one of his latter visits, brought a chair with him that a lady had given him and we still have it to this day - in the pulpit. It is called 'John Wesley's Chair'.
In this part of the city in 1873, this edifice was set up and the Methodist society here, at its height, had 350 members. We did once have a mission in the city centre. In 1909, Alexander Gammie wrote 'Wesleyans were hindered in their witness because of the position in the city'.
Down the years many distinguished preachers have served Aberdeen Methodist, among them Thomas Olivers who wrote the hymn 'The God of Abraham Praise' (He was known also for the longevity of his horse which took him 100,000 miles around Britain), 2 Gaelic speakers and other scholarly ministers, e.g. H B Workman and Vincent Taylor. I have at the manse Taylor's bookshelves - very sturdy and I take pleasure in the fact that he was a Geordie and that the first preacher was also a Geordie.
The methodist church has changed over the years and, as the years have gone on, with the growth of Aberdeen city and the oil trade, we are the only Methodist church for miles around. We are a gathered church. The congregation come in from Dufftown, Turriff, Banchory, Stonehaven, Ellon and even from Aberdeen, and this is a strong challenge to the church. We are a gathered congregation and also a cosmopolitan congregation, including a lot of Methodists from East Asia, and we take enthusiasm and stimulus from their concentrated, intellectual power and eminence in Aberdeen. It is a bit intimidating for visiting preachers but it is an interesting situation.
We have a chaotic scene ecumenically and a great deal of work needs to be done in that area. We have to work with shoppers, clubbers, the homeless, students, city centre workers. We can only do that by working with other churches. With the closure of the Langstane Kirk Youth for Christ will be transferring here, AA may be transferring here and Scottish Prison Fellowship will meet here on a Thursday.
We also have a concern for the building up of our own congregation. We have just concluded a quite successful Alpha course and are exploring ways of caring for the people who have been affected. The Methodist Church students society (Methsoc) is declining in strength within both Aberdeen Universities and we have to think about supporting and providing for the students in a different way when the educational year starts.
Aberdeen Methodist Church has a warm, fellowship life with very considerable challenges and we value your prayers and your understanding for that.
To find out more about what Aberdeen Methodist Church is doing today please visit their own website by following the link below.