What We Believe 
Mission Statement
Crownhill Methodist Church welcomes everyone into our Fellowship. We aim, through our worship, Bible study, and prayer to grow closer to God and to bring others into a true relationship with Him. We seek to offer God's love made known in Jesus Christ. We are determined to show this love in action in our daily lives and fellowship, by reaching out into the community and recognising and responding to the needs of the wider world.
Message from Brenton
Rev. Brenton Prigge
Contact details 01752 656740 or 07368918980 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
21 July 2021
Dear Friends
This is very much a summer greeting! As I write this, we have been enjoying a week of glorious sunshine and very warm weather indeed. I say “enjoying”, but I am very aware that many people do not enjoy this kind of weather at all.
To be fair, I am coming to appreciate why.
I may have lived in countries where 26 degree heat is considered quite comfortable spring weather compared to the 36 and occasional 40 plus degree conditions that would qualify as a really hot summer’s day, but I have realised that there are two major factors that determine one’s experience of weather: The first is what you are used to, since our bodies seem to acclimatise to some extent over time to the conditions we are often exposed to; and secondly, there is the way one ‘builds’ for the prevailing conditions – here in the UK, houses are built to provide warmth in cold conditions – heating is the main “climate control” element incorporated in building designs. In places like South Africa and Australia, the primary “climate control” in any building is air conditioning, and they are designed to be well ventilated and to expel heat rather than retain it.
Why am I dwelling so much on the weather? (No, it’s not just because it seems to be the number one topic of conversation in the UK!).
I say all this because I have been reflecting as we continue this rather bizarre journey through the Covid Crisis that our world is changing. The environment of the planet’s ecology is not the only kind of climate that is undergoing major change – the climate of our social world too has experienced and continues to undergo major changes due to Covid-19.
Just like with weather conditions, we find things uncomfortable when conditions are no longer (a) what we are used to or acclimatised to, and (b) the way we have designed and ‘built’ things no longer work in the new conditions.
What does this mean for us as followers of Christ, I wonder? How do we respond to this as a church? Do we put our heads in the sand and go ahead as we always have, hoping the conditions will eventually return to what we are used to? Or de we begin to acclimatise, adapt, and proactively redesign the way we do things in order to be effective for God’s Kingdom in a new ‘climate’?
My hope and my prayer is that we will have the wisdom and grace to do the latter. I don’t have all the answers in terms of what that will look like exactly, and perhaps that is something we can only learn over time and with some trial and error. That is usually the case when adapting to new conditions. What I do know is this: If we are faithful and sincere in our desire to serve God and advance the Kingdom of God, then no matter how uncomfortable it gets for a while, and no matter how uncertain we may feel about this new climate, God is with us in it all, and God will both lead us through and provide all we need for the journey. God will ensure not only that we can survive in this new climate, God will empower us to thrive in it – if we earnestly seek to follow where God is leading on this new and (for now) unfamiliar and uncomfortable part of our journey in Christ.
God is with us. Always and everywhere. Let us trust in that as we journey on together.
Blessings to you,
Brenton
We are open on Thursday mornings between 10am and 11am for private, personal prayer for anyone who wishes to attend.
We can accommodate up to 30 people at a time, socially distanced, but must stress that you should not attend if you feel personally at risk, and certainly not if you are showing signs of having the virus, however mild.
We ask you to wear a face mask, and you will be asked to use sanitiser on entry and exit.
Please bring your own pen to sign in - we need to keep a record of all attendees.
If you need to use the toilet, please use a disinfectant wipe (provided) to clean surfaces after use.
There will be no refreshments offered, but you are welcome to bring your own water, etc.
Please do not hang coats in the vestibule, but keep them with you.
Church Council has agreed to re-open the church for Sunday Worship from 7th March.
Most Sunday morning services are now streamed and can be viewed live or later on Youtube (just search for Crownhill Methodist Church)
Minister's Message
Hello, I am Brenton. Some people call me Brent. Some people have been known to call me Ben – there’s a story behind that, but I’ll save it for another time.
The surname is a bit trickier: Prigge. It’s originally German, so the final ‘e’ is pronounced. I suppose if you imagined the final letter as an ‘a’ you would probably say it correctly – or pretty close. I’m quite used to it being said wrongly anway! Right, that’s the name out of the way.
A bit of background: I was born in South Africa, the eldest of four boys, and had a very happy early childhood growing up in a very small village in the hills of Kwazulu Natal. We then moved to Port Shepstone on the East coast of Kwazulu Natal for my high school years, and that too was a very happy time – and the beginning of my love for the sea.
I left school wanting to be an Archaeologist, and actually completed a Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. However, by the time I graduated, God’s call on my life had become so persistent and relentless that I could no longer hide or run - and believe me I had been digging in my heels for some time. That’s a long story in itself, and again I hope to get the opportunity to tell it some time.
Alongside Archaeology, I had done three years of Biblical and Religious Studies as my other major, and so I decided to do an honours degree in Biblical Studies instead of continuing with Archaeology. After university I had to complete a year of compulsory military training. Most South African males at the time were conscripted straight out of school, but I had deferred this for my studies. I was sent to Oudtshoorn to complete six months of officers training with the infantry, and after graduating as a Second Lieutenant, was posted to a command post in Durban. It was here that I met Ann (another great story waiting to be told), who had just qualified as an Enrolled Nurse. Ann and I went on to get married, and we have two daughters, Carla and Kristin, who are now in their twenties and continue to live in Perth, Australia. They each have their own wonderful stories, and my own story is of course full of stories of them! But back to the short version of my story…
Morning Coffee
Coffee Bar & Book Sale (Thursdays) - SUSPENDED
Every Thursday, 10.00am-11.30am, in the church hall, why not join us for a nice cup of coffee and browse some of the books that we have for sale? We also have an optional devotional half hour at 10 o'clock in the church.
All are welcome to join us for coffee and a chat, so please pop in if you are in the vicinity. FREE car parking (up to 3 hours) in the car park behind the church, but you will need to display a ticket from the machine.
What We Believe
The Methodist Church is quite broad in its outlook whilst holding an orthodox view of Christianity.
Here are some of our beliefs.
The Trinity We believe in one God who is a trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God the Father God created the universe.
God loves everyone unconditionally.
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