History
A History of St Andrew’s Shared Church
A Sunday service at the Old St. Andrew’s Church in 1963.
First thoughts of a shared church began in the mid 1960’s when the Church of England (C of E) of St Andrew’s (then the sister church of St Peter’s Burnham) worshipped in the building.
The Roman Catholics (R.C.) were sadly having difficulty in finding a suitable building in Cippenham in which to hold services. So having discussed the situation at the C of E Parochial Church Council (PCC) meeting it was agreed that the offer was made to the Catholic Church for use of the Church Hall/Hut. Friendships were born that continue to this day.
The Rev. Cary (left) holding a model of the new church, with Father Woodard (right), inspecting the site where the church would be built.
Eventually the idea that the C of E and the Roman Catholics could build a Church used by both congregations evolved as the Reverend Alan Carey the C of E Minister, and Father David Woodard R.C. Parish Priest worked towards this vision with their respective congregations, mindful of legal requirements and religious sensibilities. This was the first time in Britain that the Church of England and the Catholics had got together at Parish level to build a Church.
The Church has been so designed to have large movable screens and furniture, which will allow the space to be subdivided so that, if necessary, four different activities can go on simultaneously. It will also allow the building to be used by other local groups. The new St Andrew’s Shared Church as it was when it was opened in 1970 is pictured right.
In June 1969 a company was formed (The Cippenham Shared Church Trust Ltd), the object of which was to promote the advance of Christian Religion and other charitable purposes beneficial to the community. The Board of Trustees were made up of one member each of the C of E and R.C. clergy and six members from each of the congregations. Their responsibilities oversaw the finances and building programme (albeit for an unconventional style of church building). In 1970 the building became a reality and was opened with much publicity and celebration as the first C of E /Roman Catholic purpose-built Church.
