Stainton Methodist Church

Stainton Methodist Church is the oldest surviving Methodist Church in the Middlesbrough and Eston Circuit. It was built in 1840 and has an interesting past. During the second world war it was used as a billet for soldiers and then leased to North Riding County Council for a rent of one shilling a week for the storage of emergency supplies.

In 1997 major alterations were carried out to the interior. Piped water was brought to the premises for the first time and a kitchen and toilet were installed. It is a one room building capable of seating 40 people and today it is a warm and friendly place of worship welcoming friends old and new.

All members and friends of the church share in the pastoral care that we offer both inside and outside the Chapel. We reach out to the residents of both Stainton and Thornton villages and are very much part of village life and play an active part in the community.

We deliver 750 Chapel newsletters quarterly. Every summer we have an Open Air Big Sing in the village square with a brass band. We hold an annual Autumn Fayre and during the winter months there is a monthly programme of light classical music played in the Chapel.

We welcome friends from St. Peter and St. Paul's Parish Church who attend our services and events. Our ecumenical links with the Church are good. We work together and have shared study groups and celebrations. We are fortunate to have the village Memorial Hall available to use when convenient and many of us share in village events in the hall.

Our chapel family continues to grow with an average congregation of 15 always ready to commit to and share the word of God.

Service Times	Summer Months - Sunday Evening 6pm BST or 3pm GMT
Parking	Street Parking
Worship Area	Small one room area with arrangeable chairs to seat 40. Raised platform with Communion table, pulpit, lectern, removeable altar rail and electric organ.
Numbers attending Worship	The average attendance is 15. This does increase with joint ecumenical and special services. We also go to Montpellier Manor for a quarterly Communion service
Worship Style	Traditional and open to Taizé style worship etc.
Music	Hymns and Psalms and Singing the Faith. We have several organists.
Media	We have a CCL licence for playing music. We have a portable microphone system.
Participation	We have a number of people who will read Bible passages. We use NRSV Bibles.
Other Facilities	We have a kitchen ‘in a cupboard’ and a toilet. Any events we have we are allowed to use the nearby Memorial Hall, free of charge eg Autumn Event and Afternoon tea.
Activities	We hold a weekly whist drive open to everyone on Wednesday afternoons 2pm. (Numbers are limited because of space and the group is full at the moment)
	An Annual Big Sing in the village square with brass band.
	A Christmas carol service in the Memorial Hall.
	We deliver 750 newsletters quarterly.
	Minister takes short remembrance service in Memorial hall during Saturday Coffee morning alternate years.