HISTORY OF BRYANSTON METHODIST CHURCH

What was Bryanston like in the 1950s?

Bryanston was proclaimed a township about 60 years ago and was one of the first suburbs to be serviced according to modern township principles. It was  established on land owned by S A Townships and  at the time that BMC was established was made up largely of one acre plots or small holdings. S A Townships was a small independent mining house owned by Sir Abe Bailey and the name “Bryanston” was derived from the location of his London home – Bryanston Square.

A Church of our own – BMC is born!

In 1956 a group of parents with sons at St Stithians College got together and decided that Bryanston needed a Methodist Church of its own. These founder families included Ted and Erith Day, Harry and Maver Harris, Harold and Fran Thompson, Emrys and Rene Hughes and Dr. and Doris Butler. They were joined by the Watson and Jacobs families. These families worshipped at St Stithians while planning for the new church. However, worshipping in the St Stithians chapel was fine for those parents with sons at the school, but what about those children who did not attend the school?  St Stithians was an all-boys college so what about the girls in the community? Something more was needed. Then in 1959 four Sunday school teachers started the Bryanston Methodist Sunday School in the ballet studio in the basement of Bryanston Shopping Centre. The studio had a piano which was useful for leading the worship. Some twenty children arrived on the first day. They then brought friends and the Sunday school grew rapidly. By the end of the year there were 80 parents and children and classes had to be held outside to accommodate the numbers.

60 YEARS OF WITNESS!

This is a journey of faith that we celebrated in 2016.  Our Bryanston Methodist community has been spreading the Good News of the Gospel in this area and further afield for over 60 years.

For the FULL HISTORY book of BMC click HERE.