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Leaside Church - The Secret Waiting To Be Found
It's sometimes been said that Leaside Church is one of Ware's best kept secrets - but one waiting to be found! But that's only the buildings - the people are so heavily involved in every aspect of Ware's life, that you almost certainly know some of them already - even if you don't know that you do!!
Tucked away up the courtyard between the betting shop and the jeweller’s shop on the corner of East Street, you can only glimpse the church itself from the High Street.
So who or what is Leaside Church?
Leaside was formed in 1978 when the Ware Methodist Church (then in New Road) came together with Ware United Reformed Church - who used the buildings currently owned by Leaside. The combined church has a regular congregation of around 50 and a formal membership list of about 80. The number of people who think of Leaside as "their church" is much larger than this, though, thanks to the wide range of groups who meet regularly on our premises. Leaside's own Kindergarten (LUFK) and Toddler groups are well known throughout the town, whilst many other groups, from youth organisations to a bereavement group The Listening Place, from National Trust to the National Childbirth Trust all use the buildings regularly.
Leasiders - and we think there must be such a word - have a great faith in the saving power and love of God through Jesus Christ. But we encourage people to find that love for themselves. Church membership requires profession of that faith, but we welcome people of all faiths and none to our meetings and services if they feel they want to come. We meet in joy, in a relaxed and relatively informal atmosphere. We hope and believe that all will receive a warm welcome.
It doesn't take an expert, though, to see that the building up Leaside Walk is somewhat older than 1978! The current building dates from 1859 and is the second one on this particular site - but how far back do you want to go!
Prior to 1978, that building was used by Ware United Reformed Church, which until the early 1970s was the Ware Congregational Church - some of the older residents of Ware still talk about "going up the Congo yard"! Their history can be traced back to 1662 and the Old Independent Chapel in what was then called Dead Lane - now Church Street - whilst calls for a Methodist Church date back to 1788, the first Ware chapel being built in 1816.
Leaside has its own web site (www.leasidechurch.org.uk) where details of current services and events are listed. Better still, come in and meet us.
Leaside is a combined Methodist/United Reformed Church, a member of the recently formed Herts & Essex Border Ecumenical Area (HAEBEA).
Full contact details are available in the Community directory under religion.
Original text by Brian Hudson, Ware. Updated March 2007 by Dennis Winney.
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