The Cross
The cross that is mounted outside the Church Centre is made from ethically sourced green oak.
Reclaimed wood, taken from the old church hall, has been used within the cross to be symbolic for past, the new wood symbolic for the present.
The slideshow on the right shows, in reverse order, the construction and mounting of the cross.
Dee Rollinson produced the concept and design for the cross, and it was constructed by Dee and Mark Fitzsimmons.
The new wood was generously donated by a member of St John's congregation.
Dee writes: "By merging the old and new wood it’s my intention to symbolise past and present, depicting the notion that when it comes to Jesus they are inextricably linked. I want to portray the belief that the Crucifixion was not a one-off event that is no longer relevant, but a once and for all sacrifice, for the whole of humanity - evermore. In a similar vein, by merging the old and new woods I’m also depicting that this is more that simply a new building, it’s a continuation and growth of St John’s Church to reach out and share the good news”.
The cross is simple, made with two words on the front “FOR YOU”, and at the base of the cross a Bible reference to John's Gospel, chapter 3, verse 16:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"
Building the Church Centre
This page is no longer being updated but is left here for interest
Building work to replace the old church hall started on Monday 9th November 2009, with a ceremony led by Donald Allister, Archdeacon of Chester.
The project is running under the title, “Building for the Future”.
We mean “future” in two senses: we want to build for the current and coming generations – the immediate future.
Above all, we want our buildings to encourage the preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ to all ages in Hartford – because he alone opens an eternal future with God to those who trust him.
The scope of the project is two-fold:
- we aim to rebuild our church hall;
- we plan to conduct some refurbishments in St John’s.
The new church hall, now called St John's Church Centre, was completed in September 2010. More information on the planned refurbishments in the main church building will be made available in due course.
Other Information
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- Photographs of the old church hall before demolition taken in October 2009 (PDF format)
- Architects impressions and plans for the new hall (PDF)
- Detailed high resolution room layouts for the ground floor and first floor (will open in new window)
