All details are subject to change due to covid for 2021 visits
BUNYAN MEETING
Bunyan Anniversaries Project – 2021-2022
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350th anniversary of the Bunyan Meeting site as a place of worship,
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75th anniversary of the opening of John Bunyan Museum & Library,
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5th anniversary of the opening of community art venue the Basement at Bunyan.
This triple anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate the Heritage of our site –Spiritual, historical, and artistic as well as highlighting the work we do as part of Bedford’s community. Thanks to Arts Council England (ACE) funding we have been capturing, sharing, and celebrating the stories of people who have worked and worshiped at Bunyan Meeting over the years.
Sunday 29th May 2022
The Archbisop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Dr Justin Welby, will be preaching during the 11am service to celebrate the 350th anniversary of John Bunyan becoming Minister of the church in 1672.
Sunday 7th August 2022
Sunday 21st August 2022 the Church, with visiting minister Revd Dr Ruth Gouldbourne, marks the purchase of the site by Bunyan and his congregation. as a place of worship 350 years ago.
August 2021
“The Museum’s Progress: 1946 to 2021 and beyond” in summer 2021 celebrating the history and development of our world-famous John Bunyan Museum & Library and Basement at Bunyan community art gallery.
Tuesday 2nd to Saturday 27th August 2022
Telling the story of the people of Bunyan Meeting over the 350 years, and the development of the church, both as building and place of worship, up to the present day.
A mixed ability group have been learning new skills and creating artwork inspired by the heritage of John Bunyan and Bunyan Meeting, and the stories of the people of Bunyan Meeting old and new.
Inspiration has come from the ‘Hidden Highlight’ series of films.
Some of their work was displayed in the 2021 summer exhibition and more will be included in the 2022 exhibition.
Reminiscence Day
On Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th October 2022 to capture the excitement, inspiration, fellowship, and enjoyment of serving God in our church over the years – and hopefully provide encouragement and ideas for the future, looking forward!
‘Ministers and Worship, Music at Bunyan, Sunday School/Crèche, Young People’s Activities/Society, Famous visitors, Special events, Songs of Praise/BBC, Highway/ITV. Away days, Branch churches, Modernising the church sanctuary, Building Project, Museum Design, The Basement at Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress production in 1966, commemoration of Bedford Charter 1166 . . . ‘
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Do you have memories of life at Bunyan Meeting to share?
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Do you have photos, books, memorabilia from past years at our church?
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If so, we would love to hear from you - contact the Church Office or Museum Office (?)
We hope that some of these items could be displayed as part of the 2022 exhibition, and if donated to the museum collection as an opportunity to collect and save some of this history for future generations if some of these objects were donated to the museum collection,
Faith Stories
A dedicated team of volunteers have been collecting memories from the congregation, recording video interviews, and inviting written contributions, about their personal faith journeys that have brought them to Bunyan.
They have also been working with our main and all-age-worship congregations; nominating favourite hymns, heroes, and collecting what each person brings to the life of the church and the community. Clips and extracts will be shown as part of the summer exhibition 2022.
Faith in Fabric
Join us between 1st May and 10th September 2022 in creating a quilt that will celebrate Bunyan Meeting’s 350th anniversary. We are inviting you to create your own unique square that shares your experiences of Bunyan Meeting as a place of creativity, heritage, and faith.
Artist Anne-Marie Abbate will be providing packs of materials for you to produce your own piece that will be united together and displayed in our anniversary year for us all to enjoy and to mark the occasion for future generations.