It should not be misleading, arrogant (e.g Haywards Heath Real Church), or an obvious barrier to new people attending.
Below are a few suggestions for names, updated with all your suggestions so far. You are most welcome to comment favourably or otherwise, and add suggestions of your own and we'll see where this leads.
Location based
Bentswood Church
Bentswood Community ChurchBentswood Evangelical Church
Community Church of Christ
Heyworth (Community) Church
Heath Evangelical Church
Mayflower Church or Mayflower Christian ChurchNew England Road Church
New England Road Community Church
New England Road Evangelical
New England Community ChurchNew England Church
Bible theme/idea/person
(The) Pilgrim(s) Church
Cornerstone
Saltworkz (Community) Church
The ArkChrist Church
Graham Nicholls
Mayflower Church,
ReplyDeleteLinks well with play group
Christ's church?
ReplyDeletedistinctive from what?
ReplyDeleteChrist's Church describes THE church, not so much our particular church.
ReplyDeleteHHEFC conveys: where we're based; our beliefs (to some extent).
ReplyDeleteI think this will become an unnecessary distraction leading to a discontinuity with the past.
What would be the legal and administrative processes involved? What would be the costs?
Therefore, against a name change!
Will a name change do anything to advance the gospel or make us better Christians?
ReplyDeleteIf so then I suggest "Saltworkz Church".
If not, we should focus on more important things.
What's in a name?
Name change makes some sense and also not.
ReplyDeleteSense - name is a mouthful and very confusing - sounds like it's a Church free of Evangelicals. It isn't. also - it's often shortened to HHEFC because it's so long.....so better to have a name that you use fully in literature etc. Cost is minimal as the building's being changed now so no extra cost for the new signs etc. Also reprints etc happen anyway - so only cost is Pete's time and he wants change I think...will make publications easier to make.
No sense - We are changing the building so changing the name only adds to the local disconnection with our past. Also against the idea is that it's a very sensitive issue - have to remember all other churches in HH who are also Christ's church and Evangelical (if we drop the Free) etc.
my view: No Saltworkz PLEASE! I don't like it for a Cafe let alone a Church building....really no sense for the non-Christian although understand the link with the Cafe.. I would like a simple name - love Tim Keller's 'Redeemer Church' in NYC, and if you do a short name like that you can have a tag line like 'A Bible Centred Church' OR 'An Evangelical Church'.....you don't need the name of the place the Church is in in the name - it's in the address and the people who come mainly are already in HH! Also using Evangelical - a tricky one - only Evangelicals really know what they mean and it's often misused.
So after all that it's got to be.....oh sorry must get on with leading tonight's service.....oh, wish we could use 'Grace Church'. Love Matt!
Heath Evangelical Church
ReplyDeleteChristian Community Church
ReplyDeleteChrist Church
Community Church of Christ
New England Community Church
New England Church
Bentswood Community Church.
I know that there will be objections to all of them for some reason or another, but I totally agree that it is a good time to change the church name when it is reopened at Easter.
I like Bentswood Community Church or just Bentswood Church - I agree with others that something shorter and snappier would be a bit better. The downside of dropping 'Evangelical' from the name is that it makes it a bit more difficult for like-minded visitors/movers to HH to find us or understand what we're about before they come, but that's less important than reaching out into the local community. Ultimately, as a relative newcomer, I don't find HHEFC too bad a name and we should be focusing on ministry in all its forms rather than (as my grandmother used to put it) debating what colour to whitewash the vestry...
ReplyDeleteColin
From the options suggested so far I like Bentswood Community Church the best, however, I wonder whether this would deter people attending from other parts of the town? I remember somebody commenting once, during a discussion on where members should live, that our church is for the whole of the town and not just Bentswood - a consideration for this discussion too.
ReplyDeleteBentswood Evangelical Church?
ReplyDeleteAbbreviation: BEC.
Now for me personally:
ReplyDeleteDon't like Community in the name as it suggests we are about the local community action more than anything...which isn't the case. I don't like Bentswood as it's too specific on area etc as Nicky says.
I do like the idea of a more abstract name - but biblical like Cornerstone (wasn't my idea).
Why not just state a fact of the location so people can find the church easily and use the name of the road like:
ReplyDeleteNew England Road Community Church!!!!
New England Road Evangelical!!!
But then you still havn't eliminated the problem of shortening the name.
JJ
I have updated main article with the suggestions so far.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about the word evangelical. It does have some problems but it is a recognised term within the church and easy enough to explain outside the church.
ReplyDeleteBentswood Evangelical Church
Heath Evangelical Church
?
Can we change the name of the town...?
ReplyDeleteIt seems that of the 34 letters in the current name, 38% of these are to do with the town.
I think it might be the easier option...
On a slightly less ridiculous note;
I realised through all of this, I actually quite like the name Haywards Heath Evangelical Free Church. When someone asks you what church you go to (outside of church circles) where you go to church, the fact that the name is so long often promotes further conversation about exactly what it is we as a congregation believe.
If I'm honest, (and what's the point on writing on here if not to be honest!) I don't like Cornerstone, and I don't like The Ark.
Cornerstone sounds like a re-invented Covenanters group and The Ark sounds like a playgroup. the fact is that you would still have to explain to anyone where these things were if they didn't know already, so the conversation efficiency would remain the same whether the place is in the title or not.
As it is I like the acronym HHEFC. It says enough about the church (people not building) to inspire some level of curiosity, without offending anyone.
Going back to the reason of not opting for "Christ Church" as not being distinctive about our congregation, Cornerstone...? The Ark...? Surely the same applies.
I reckon keep it as it is.
If it ain't broke, albeit a bit of a mouthful, why fix it?
The Ark is a playgroup isnt it?
ReplyDeleteAgree with the idea of a snappy name, agree with tagline idea.
But in essence i dont care two hoots what its called. the issues of us being un-united are ridiculous, the people who are getting up in arms about the change in name need to get a life, this is classed as a secondary issue, right?
Anything with New England Road in it might cause confusion with the church down the road especially for those who are new. "Bentswood" and "Community" could be considered presumptuous by the locals as most of us don't live in that area.
ReplyDeleteI agree with John F about names like The Ark, Cornerstone (wasn't that the name of the Abbey National Estate Agent chain years ago?) If we go down this route Saltworkz makes sense because it is already an established name in the locality as the cafe has a good reputation, so why not build on that?
However, with so many suggestion already isn't it going to be a tricky trying to keep everyone happy?
John R said a name change could be a distraction.
Colin said we should focus on ministry and not worry about the colour of the whitewash(!)
John F said - if it ain't broke...
I agree with them all.
It is broke, I think. Sounds weird and wrong - Free of Evangelicals.......It's easy for us who already attend to want it to stay the same but I do think it has issues as it is. It's much more about those outside the Church.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that we could keep the Church name and just have a building name....so:
'The Rain Shelter'
Meeting Place of HHEFC
'Saltworkz Hall'
Meeting Place of HHEFC
'the Asylum'
Meeting Place of HHEFC
May be a less painful approach.
church@bentswood.hh - catchy, eh? ;-)
ReplyDeleteHere are two names to compliment the work in the cafe. The first one is The Pepper Pot, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteThe other name is Lighthouse Community Church.
Any takers?
I’m in favour of a shorter name. Like the name Grace Church!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading all of the above - the best names in my opinion are:
ReplyDelete1) Bentswood Evangelical Church
2) Heath Evangelical Church
Just think about talking in conversation about where you go to church with your friends. These just seem to be easy to bring up!
Where the church doesn’t use a location, names that come up that we haven’t considered include:
ReplyDeleteEmmaus / Bethany / Bethel
Son Rise / Logos / Lighthouse / Freedom /Mustard Tree / Xcel [yes ,really]
More conventional are (New) Life & (New) Hope
The most common descriptors now after the name are Community (or less often’ Family’) Church, and Christian Centre. The words Fellowship, Evangelical, and Free appear progressively less often in that order.
If we go for a location name I would be happiest with Heath Evangelical Church [I think other groups drop the Haywards, and on any literature the town name will be in full].
Bentswood or NER would for me only work if we were in a city, and Mid Sussex Evangelical Church would be a delusion.
If we choose Bible based words, I’d prefer Hope / Good News / similar without the Evangelical, on the basis that they invite a Question already.
I’m happy to go with any workable name and I am not against Saltworkz Church personally, especially if we can put a mica sparkle in the white render on the front of the building ! I had been thinking that with maybe the Saltworkz word always more bold than Church in literature and on the building, we could get a balance between our link with the community who may want to meet with us but are initially completely put off by a’ church’
That is not trying to deceive, but I'm imagining hopefully some future overheard comment .. Let’s go to the Saltworkz for the men’s breakfast/ parenting/ Christianity Explained / Sunday Morning.
Another thought from Sue A....how about "Good News (Evangelical) Church"? The brackets around Evangelical is so it can be listed complete in the telephone directory etc., but when it comes to referring to the church by name, it could be left out - Good News Church! Who could resist coming to hear what the Good News is?
ReplyDeleteAnother thought from Dave....Although initially based in Hurstpierpoint, The Point meets every Sunday at St Paul's Catholic College in Burgess Hill, and appears to be drawing in the crowds.
I'm not suggesting that we closely identify with The Point, but perhaps their name has been successful, so my latest suggestion is.... The Rock.
Is Heath really an accepted shorthand for Haywards Heath? The business section of my BT phone book gives: “Heath Veterinary Clinic” in Burgess Hill; “Heath Technical Services” in Broadbridge Heath; “Heath Bathrooms” in Burgess Hill. However, “Heath Newsagent” is in Haywards Heath!
ReplyDeleteBut then perhaps it’s the youngsters who use Heath – which of course rules me out.
As Nicky S and Matt W suggest, names such as New England Road or Bentswood might be too specific.
Depends whether you think the localised name is conveying the idea of where the church is, or where the church serves.
ReplyDeleteI confess I have had real problems in coming up with any suggestions regarding the name for the church. I noted Roger’s point that the church is known across the world as HHEFC!
ReplyDeleteThe following is not an original idea but follows a conversation with another brother – I think it has many merits. Giving the new building a name such as ‘The Mayflower Centre’ but retain the name of our church. It gives the building an identity which is not a church- possibly helpful in the community?
The church (ie the people) retain the identity of HHEFC – we just happen to meet at the old address in a new building with a new name! Solution?!
I like the idea of naming the building and keeping hhefc. Although, I was struck by what Adam said on sunday, it's the people that matter not the building we meet in. Am I acting as a living stone? That's what I struggle with! Simon Ha
ReplyDeleteI live in Haywards Heath and as has already been noted , we cannot change the name of our town! The name of our Church is widely known and respected throughout the country and in many places abroad.
ReplyDeleteWe live in an age of rebranding and much of it is awful.E g I have been a customer of Norwich Union for decades and it is now called Aviva - the business has lost its identity.
I believe that if we are to change our name (and this may be an opportune time to do so), we should retain our geographical identity.
Therefore I favour retaining "Haywards Heath" ....
Secondly the name "Evangelical" is an opportunity not a hurdle. If people we meet do not know what the word means , we have a gospel sharing opportunity !!
Thirdly , we are "Church" ;"living stones being built into a spiritual house" .
So I would like to see Haywards Heath Evangelical Church" as our new name.
If the compromise choice of Heath Evangelical Church is suggested , I would agree with earlier contributors , that it does not describe us accurately and could be confused with other Churches of the same name , elsewhere in the UK.
Finally I would like to record that I am not in favour of any of these names - Community,New England, Bentswood,Saltworkz, Mayflower,Cornerstone,Ark,Redeemer.
Roger O