By the end of the 1800's, the parish of St. Mary, Moston,
was wide and scattered, covering a large area.
It consisted mainly of four small hamlets - St. Mary's Road, New Moston,
Chain Bar and Lightbowne; also a number of isolated farm houses.
The Rector, Rev. Thomas Wolstencroft passed away
on 18th December 1898 at the age of 84.
He had been Rector for 25 years and had remained faithful to the
Protestant Evangelical Truths for which the church had been built in 1869
by friends from Christ Church, Harpurhey.
The new Rector was inducted on 13th May 1899.
From his first Sunday he began to change the churchmanship of St. Mary's.
This naturally caused a division of opinion among the congregation.
Some were prepared to accept anything that he cared to say or do,
but others were determined to try and maintain the old paths of
Evangelical Truths and Ceremonies.
However, they soon reached the point where stemming the growing tide of
ritualism seemed a hopeless task; and so the idea was floated
of the possibility of building a small room where a Sunday School
could be held for their children,
and morning and evening services held on Sundays.
The church was built at a cost of 822 pounds 2 shillings and twopence
(with furnishings it cost a grand total of 884 pounds and 5 shillings)
and on Saturday 17th March 1900 was officially opened by the Earl of Portsmouth.
It was filled to its utmost capacity and so with feelings of great joy
and devout thankfulness to Almighty God, this church was consecrated
to the service of God and launched upon its course!
From the beginning it has been a place where the Word of God could be
proclaimed in all its fullness and purity;
where children could be taught the simple Gospel truths and helped to come to
a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ;
where men and women could meet together for prayer and praise with the
beautiful and scriptural Book of Common Prayer services without any ornate
ritual or additions, but retained exactly as it had been in
St. Mary's Parish Church ever since it commenced in 1869.
Members of the church Committee and Sunday School teachers felt a
responsibility for the work, as indeed nearly all of the congregation did.
They came with a real sense of prayer and praise, ready to work
and give to the best of their ability.
Some attended to the heading apparatus, comming late on Saturdays
and early on Sunday mornings to attend to the boiler.
On special occasions they brought buckets and brushed and scrubbed the floor.
As they worked they sang and joked, and there was a joyous harmony
and Christian fellowship in those early days.
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