Location: The parish of Hemlington is situated on the southern tip of Middlesbrough. Hemlington claims a history of continuous habitation since at least Saxon times and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book under the title of ‘Himeligetun.’ The area was farmland up until the late1960s when land was purchased for development. The first estate to be built in the late 60’s was the Southdean Drive estate which runs parallel to Low Lane. Eventually, during the 1970’s, more estates were built (some council/housing association dwellings, some private homes). The estates are built around a man-made lake and park – popular amongst dog-walkers and anglers!). Hemlington has a small shopping precinct, a recreation centre, public library, a clinic, a dentist and 3 churches (Anglican, Baptist, and Independent Pentecostal).

Demographics: According to the British Survey, Hemlington is home to 6059 people. There are some 2621 dwellings.

·        51% of residents live in council or housing association homes.

·        42.54% of residents own their own homes.

·        3.43% of residents live completely rent free.

·        2.56% of residents live in privately rented homes.

99% of Hemlington residents are white/European, with only 1% from an ethnic minority background. 29.15% of people are under 20 years of age. There are 995 people over the age of 60 living in Hemlington.

There is a significant number of people who live in social housing who are unemployed.

Many people moved to Hemlington when other areas of Middlesbrough were redeveloped (such as Ormesby and South Bank). The various estates tend to be communities in their own right. The lake acts as a boundary separating the private houses from the rented houses.

Church: St Timothy’s has its origin in the early 1970’s. The Rev Terrence Grigg (Vicar of Stainton) had the vision to start a church community in the ‘new town’ of Hemlington. A gift of £66 was provided as a deposit for the purchase of a house on the Southdean estate. 1 Southdean Drive was bought and fitted to be a ‘house church’, £5000 being found by the Archbishop of York, Donald Coggan, to buy the house outright. ‘Church House’ was dedicated on Ascension Day, 20^th May 1971.

In the early days, ‘Church House’ was used by several denominations (Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic amongst them). As the Anglican congregation grew Sunday services moved to Viewley Hill School until money was raised to build the new Church of St Timothy in the Viewley Centre. The new Church was begun in 1979 and completed in 1980. It was opened and dedicated on Sunday 2^nd November 1980 by the Bishop of Whitby.

St Timothy’s remained a part of Stainton Parish until the 1990’s. The new Parish of Hemlington was formed and the Church consecrated on 1^st June 1993.  St Timothy’s is used by the Anglican and Roman Catholic congregations in the area.

Two other churches are present in Hemlington. Providence Baptist Church was built in the late 1970’s and is in the strict Baptist tradition. Most of its members do not live in Hemlington. The St John of God Pastoral Centre was built in the early 1990’s by the Roman Catholic order of St John of God. Until its closure in 2003 the Roman Catholic community held Sunday services there. It was sold in September 2006 to All Nations Pentecostal Church (an independent church community, comprising 75% Africans).

Congregation: St Timothy’s congregation is small. We average 35 total attendance each Sunday (apart from when we have a baptism!) 33% of our attendance is under 16 years of age. Many of our older members are becoming frail (I have conducted the funerals of 4 church members over the past 6 months!).

Problems: Here are some of the problems we face at St Timothy’s.

·        Building in bad state of repair -  Although the building is only 27 years old it is in need of repair to the roof (which has always leaked!), the toilets and the interior plastering to the walls. A fabric fold-back screen separates the Church from the hall and is need of replacement. We hope to replace this screen with a solid sound-proof folding partition wall – this will enable us to use the hall for a Junior Church during the main Sunday service (we are presently unable to hold a Sunday School in the hall because of ‘noise.’)

·        Lack of contact with one half of the parish - Most of our Church members and occasional attenders live on the side of the lake where the Church is situated. Because the lake acts as a barrier, very few people make the journey round to attend Church. All 3 of the Church buildings in Hemlington are situated in the Viewley Centre area.

·        Cultural isolation - The Church has been very culturally isolated from its parish. St Timothy’s has the undeserved reputation of being ‘unfriendly’ to newcomers.

·        Lack of resources - St Timothy’s lacks resources in various ways. The Church struggles financially. There are very few people who are able to give time in a voluntary capacity to run the Church. There is only 1 trained minister (the Vicar!).

Areas of growth in mission: Here are some areas in which we have grown and developed over the last year.

·        House Group – In July 2006 we established a house group in the Church. This has steady membership of about 12. We meet on the basis of Acts 2: 42 for fellowship, Bible study, the Breaking of Bread and prayer. Members of the house group have shown a huge amount of spiritual growth and have discovered a new depth to their faith.

·        Family Service – We have begun a family service on the first Sunday of each month. This takes the form of a more simplified Communion service with more involvement for children. We have introduced modern songs and a more interactive sermon slot! This, we hope, may attract newcomers to the Church (especially families).

·        Lake View Community Café – In 2006 we began to develop our Church coffee lounge/kitchen into a café. We have been given a grant through the local Community Management to make changes to implement this venture. New windows, door and security shutters have been fitted; new bistro tables and chairs have been installed. This café provides a much needed community facility, as well as providing some income for the Church. The café is open weekday mornings from 9 until 12 and is staffed by volunteers (some are church members, some are not). We view this as part of our mission and ministry to the parish. We have seen a few people start to attend Church through using the café. We hope to develop the café further over the coming year, opening for longer. 

·        Youth Group – We run a youth group on a Friday evening which regularly draws about 20 youngsters (50% attend the Church). Many of the young people in the area have had very little Church contact. We struggle to find youth leaders, and we lack a lot of resources, but this group has been a real growth area.

·        Christianity Explored – We have started to run Christianity Explored courses (a bit like Alpha but better!!!) in the parish. This has served as baptism/confirmation preparation and also a way in for those who wish to find out more about the Christian faith. Our first course attracted 12 people and was a great success. We hope to do more courses in the future.

·        Schools Work – We have good contact with the 2 local state primary schools in the parish (I am a governor for both). The schools regularly come to the Church for R.E. lessons, and also for Christmas Carol services.

The Barn: The Barn is a project we have in mind for this year. As we have very little contact with one side of the parish we would like to start a monthly congregation in a council owned barn (once part of the old Hemlington Hall Farm). This would take place at 4:30pm on a Sunday, and would be a ‘fresh expression’ offering informal worship, teaching and outreach. The Barn is a good facility with its own parking area for up to 40 cars. We hope to begin this project in the summer with a barbecue and service. This hopefully will provide a service for those who live on the opposite side of the parish from where the Church building stands.

And finally…

Hemlington is as a parish is a real mission field. We would very much value your prayers and your support as we seek to make the Gospel of Christ known here. There are 3 areas in which we would appreciate help.

1.    Finance – any gift/loan towards our building needs would be gratefully received.

2.    Café – volunteers are welcome (there is a rota and training!).

3.    The Barn – anyone who would like to get involved in this outreach project would be most welcome.

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