About Carrs Lane
Read summaries below: Our Vision & Plans | Church History | Wider Church Links |
The Church Centre | The Building | Some Centre Tenants | About this Website
The Church at Carrs Lane meets right in the centre of Birmingham. We are Christians of varying ages and backgrounds, worshipping in the traditions of the United Reformed Church and Methodist Church. Some of us can be seen at the top of this and other pages, and you can read about our various activities in other sections of the website.
Our Vision & Plans - Current Developments
This is an exciting time for us: plans are being implemented to sustain and develop the mission of this strategic city centre church over the next few decades.
Whilst we still offer attractive, realistically-priced rooms for those needing a convenient venue in central Birmingham, we are also drawing the Christian nature of what we do into far sharper focus:
- a residential Christian Community has been established here
- new mid-week congregations are being built up
- the ministry of prayer is being developed further
- in 2009 we began talks on closer co-operation with the Birmingham Methodist Central Mission, which led firstly to the latter's staff moving to Carrs Lane, and then to a service in November 2011 to commit to uniting the two churches in a Local Ecumenical Partnership. We now function as a combined congregation.
See Our Vision and Plans for the full story.
Church History
There has been a worshipping community in Carrs Lane since 1748. From 1832 the church belonged to the newly-formed Congregational Union, which became part of the United Reformed Church in 1972. In its history it has been influential both in Birmingham, and in national church affairs. The current building is the fourth to stand on the site.
Read about Carrs Lane's fascinating Church History
Wider Church Links
The Church at Carrs Lane has formal links with other United Reformed Churches through the West Midlands Synod of the URC, and with other Birmingham churches through Believing in Birmingham - the Central Birmingham Christian Partnership, and Birmingham Churches Together.
See Wider Church Links for details.
The Church Centre
Room Hire and Conference Facilities
Apart from housing all the church activities, the Church Centre exists to serve the people of Birmingham and beyond.
A wide variety of organisations from across the city and across the country use the premises. Some are religious; Christians of many denominations (it is frequently used for ecumenical events) and those of other faiths. Others are self-help groups, civic and community organisations, and political, business and other interests.
The rooms are used for services, talks, training, music, committees etc. Buffets and refreshments can be arranged for those using the facilities. For more information see the Room Hire section.
Find out more about The Church Centre, and how it is run.
Opening Hours
Carrs Lane Church Centre is open to the public on Monday to Saturday from 9.00 to 5.30;
and for booked meetings only, on Monday to Friday evenings;
and for church services on Sunday as advertised.
The Building
The present Carrs Lane Church Centre was completed in 1970. Built of engineering bricks to reflect the industrial city, the austere but dramatic exterior hides a welcoming bright and comfortable interior.
Find out more about The Building (and some of its interesting contents).
Some Centre Tenants
The Church Centre originally included 12 flats built to house student married couples from overseas, which, although important at the time, are no longer needed for this purpose.
Now a number of independent organisations, with an emphasis on serving the community, are based in the former flats and elsewhere in the Centre. The building also houses a large Christian bookshop, part of Wesley Owen Books & Music.
Read more about Some Centre Tenants.
About this Website
This website, which replaced our original one launched in 2003, was professionally developed in 2008 by Dave Gray, whilst Website Development Officer at Birmingham Voluntary Service Council. It uses Version 3 of the popular free Content Management System, Plone. The content was created, and continues to be developed and maintained, by members of The Church at Carrs Lane, and Church Centre staff.
Website Manager: Michael Richer