About the Church

The People | Mission Statement | Plan of Christian Action | North Cambridge Council of Churches | The Building

The People

Castle Street Methodist Church has approximately 100 members and friends and is located within easy walking distance from the centre of Cambridge.

Castle Street Methodist Church is one of the Methodist churches forming the Cambridge Circuit, which in turn forms part of the East Anglia District of the Methodist Church in the UK.

Mission Statement

Our purpose is to glorify God and share the message of Jesus Christ, at home and abroad, through worship, caring and fellowship, with everyone who wishes to be involved.

We wish to develop our activities with people of all ages and also to use music in all its forms. The Church wishes to extend its links with the community in association with other local churches and consider practical ways of fulfilling its Christian Mission.

Plan of Christian Action

We in the Cambridge Methodist Circuit, in association with the North Cambridge Council of Churches are constantly reviewing our Church life and its work, worship, and relationships with the community and other local churches. We try to set realistic objectives for the Church's work, and are concerned with mission, forms and styles of worship. We are committed to making the best use of the gifts, financial and intellectual, of the members of our congregation.

This plan has been expanded upon by our Renewing Our Vision initiative.

North Cambridge Council of Churches

The Council is long established and was formed from the ecumenical association of churches situated within a 1-2km radius of Castle Street. The participating churches are:

• St Andrew's C of E, Chesterton
• The Parish of Ascension, C of E
• Arbury Road Baptist
• Castle End Mission
• Castle Street Methodist
• Chesterton Methodist
• St George's C of E, Chesterton
• The Church of the Good Shepherd C of E
• St Laurence's Roman Catholic Church
• St Luke's C of E / URC Shared Church
• Arbury Community Church

The council meets quarterly and coordinates special services. Joint activities include Week of Prayer services in January, Holy Week Services and a Pentecost service. At each major festival, a joint diary is produced which is distributed in the neighbourhood.

The Building

There has been a Methodist Chapel on the site since about 1823 and the present building, which has recently acquired Grade II Listed status, was built in 1914. Recent excavations in the car park confirm that the church is situated on a site developed during the Roman occupation.

A major activity of the church is our Development Project, which will refurbish our existing premises. Many former members of the church who have moved away have wished to be associated with this project.

The church building has two sections, joined by the vestry. The worship area (pictured) can seat about 200 people, and houses the Binns pipe organ. The organ was built by J.J. Binns of Leeds. It was installed in 1929 and was one of the last organs built by James Jepson Binns before his death that year.

The other section, incorporating the church hall, kitchen and two class rooms, is used for social activities by the whole church, by the Junior Church and also for meetings, games and activities. This second section is available for letting in whole or in part. Please contact our Premises Booking Secretary. Both sections of the building may be accessed from both Castle Street and St Peter's Street and provision is available for access by wheelchair.