Haven Church

In the 1860s, a group of eleven men from Gorran Haven and Mevagissey scoured the area in the hunt for a suitable building to erect a place of worship.  Most of them had witnessed the great revival in Mevagissey just over 30 years before when God moved in the fishing village in a mighty way.  People inside their homes, crying to God in mercy, could be heard by passers-by in the streets outside.
There had been an independent church in Gorran Haven from early in the 18th century.  They had met in a disused Roman Catholic church (opposite the Llawnroc), then in The Watchhouse (at the top of the beach). St Just Church, Gorran Haven had been used as a fish cellar for over a century. However, it seems that in 1812 the Congregationalists started using St Just as their Meeting House and referring to it as the old Chapel Cellar.  Their numbers grew to around 70 in the 1850s.  By now the church wanted their own building and eventually bought a plot of land on the 24th January 1863.
The eleven trustees included a carpenter, a mason, tailor, draper, cordwainer and some fishermen. They set about building a chapel from local stone, much of which was hauled back by horse and cart from Vault Beach.
Once completed, Haven Church became a member of the Congregational Union whose history dates back to the Puritans of 1581. In the early 1970s, Haven Church freed itself from any denominational bias.  The church building was renovated in the 1980s and then had a major internal redevelopment in 2016 giving us the facilities we enjoy today. The church is managed by the Haven Church Trust which includes 3 long-term supporters of the church and 3 Church members who are professionally helpful

Haven Church is a small congregation of around 18 people on a Sunday morning and 30 on a Sunday afternoon which swells to double the number during the summer months with visitors returning each year. We have 20 members and although an aging congregation, a few families attend each week. There is a good connection with the local school and with the community. There is a children's sunday school group which meets during the afternoon service called 'Explorers' for primary age children and a creche for under 5's which is supervised by parents. There is also a Baby and Toddler group called 'Little Stars' which meets every Friday morning during term time for pre-school children where they play, do crafts/ messy play and have a Bible story, songs and snack.

Our vision for Haven Church would be to grow these groups as well as potentially starting new groups, for example, an afterschool primary aged group which would follow on from Little Stars, and a youth Bible study group for older teens who come along to the Sunday services. We would also envisage having stronger links with the local primary schools and potentially regularly leading assemblies and joining the 'open the book' team who at present regularly do assemblies. There could also be a possibility of starting new alpha/ Christianity Explored groups for parents as well as regular messy Church type events/ family events.

Haven Church is a small building tucked away in the beautiful Cornish fishing village of Gorran Haven. It is situated just around the coast from the more well know fishing village of Mevagissey and 11 miles from the bigger town of St Austell.

Sunday- 10 am – Breaking of Bread. This is a worship service with communion remembering all that Jesus has done for us.
4 pm – Afternoon Worship. This is a service of worship and Bible teaching. We hold a Sunday School session called 'Explorers' for primary aged children during this service, as well as a creche supervised by parents/ carers for under 5's

Wednesday- 7.30 pm – Prayer Care. This is an hour of Bible reading, prayer and fellowship.

Friday  (Term time only)- 10.00 am – Little Stars. This is our parent and toddler group.

Other Events

First Monday of the month - Knit & Natter, which is a group who come together to knit and sew projects for the Shoebox Appeal run by Samaritans Purse

Second Tuesday of the month - Timeshare. This is a Bible Study group for ladies who are new to the Christian faith or would like to know more about the Christian faith
From time to time we also organise Ladies craft mornings, Ladies, film nights, Men’s Breakfasts, Men's Meals, Youth Clubs and Prayer Breakfasts.

We also have a church plant in Madeira who we support in whichever means they find helpful. There could be opportunities for the trainee to work with them for a week during their placement