THE sister branch to Ross-on-Wye’s Community Church hopes to hold its first service next month, as its refurbishment continues.

The Forest and Wye Community Church, found on Foxes Bridge Road, Cinderford, was Oaklands Sports and Social Club until 2025.

Before this building, it was located on Parragate Road in Cinderford’s town centre, but the church itself began around 20 years ago from the Old Gospel Hall that had closed.

In 2021, the church on Ross-on-Wye’s Henry Street, dating back to the 19th century, requested help from the Community Church after seeing its numbers dwindle.

The Community Church’s support effectively relaunched the Ross-on-Wye church as its second location in 2024. Now, the two run hybrid services via live stream to one another, with reportedly growing numbers of attendees.

While the Ross-on-Wye church thrives, the Cinderford building continues to be revitalised. Volunteer contractors have now built the stage area in the main hall where the services will be held, while a private room behind is almost completed too. It is hoped that the church’s first service will be held in the hall on Sunday, November 22.

Refurbishment initially began during summer last year with some basic decorations, and with a new roof installed. Now, the church continues with its vision for the building’s aesthetic and what the rooms will be used for.

Tim Cracknell, Pastor of Forest and Wye Community Church said: “It hadn’t been decorated in many years. The carpet was horrendous with plenty of beer stains on it from many years of drinking and smoking in here!”

The room next to the main hall is hoped to have a coffee and lounge area for social meetings, while behind it, the idea of a children’s soft play area is being considered.

Tim estimates they will welcome a congregation of around 180 people at Christmas time. These numbers along with the volunteers that have helped build the church signifies much support for it.

The church will likely see more people over the coming months as the rooms start to take shape, and some groups already use the building such as The Food Bank, archery, kickboxing, line dancing and a local drama group, while support groups such as Celebrate Recovery begin in early November.

Tim said: “It’s a community church and our ethos is to meet the needs of the community. We’ve got this amazing building which enables different groups to use it, and we have about ten different groups that use it regularly - so it’s providing a resource for the town and the wider area.

“The building is a work-in-progress, it will take another year or two before we get everything finished, and then of course it’s a case of developing all the elements that go on in the building.”

Even though the full completion of the church may be some time away, Tim said he is pleased with the progress so far, and happy with the increased parking space from the church’s previous location.

Members of the community who have specialist skills and want to help the church with its refurbishments can contact a member of the team via email on [email protected]