Building
History
Before 1987, Chineham was served by a small wooden
ex-agricultural shed called St Joseph's, given to the parish of
St Mary's, Old Basing, in 1931, when already at least 50 years old.
In the 1970s, a large old caravan was acquired to act as premises for the Sunday School.
The new church building was completed in June
1987, by which time St Joseph's was overflowing as Chineham developed.
As a clear message to the community, the new building was called Christ
Church. The building was designed as a modern church centre, to be
used by the community 7 days a week, with a variety of rooms around the
Worship Area, and with flexibility as the watchword.
It was used by a large variety of church and secular groups ranging from a church luncheon club to a child care clinic, from a church-sponsored Brownie Pack to a Craft Circle, and from a monthly Fellowship Group to the (civil) parish council. Various parts of the building are in use by groups on most days and evenings of the week. (Details)
The worship area at Christ Church can seat 170 comfortably, and can be extended by an opening moveable wall, to allow a maximum capacity of 300. One of the rooms has been converted to form a permanent parish office with another being a permanent crèche area.
Expansion
The work of the church and the demands on the building from both church and community users meant that we had
effectively outgrown our building by the year 2001. The church embarked on
an ambitious programme of development that culminated in the opening of a new, expanded
building in January 2004. This provides a considerable amount of additional space and facilities.