Sunday Worship - 10:30am

It may be that you have never been to church before. If so, you are particularly welcome.

​We seek to present the Christian message in a language that everyone can understand and try to make our worship accessible to all, no matter how little experience of church you might have.​

What happens

Our worship on Sunday mornings is informal and relaxed, mixing the old and the new. There is a time of singing God’s praises, a time of prayer, and a talk explaining a Bible passage.

Most weeks there is an opportunity for any to share what God has been up to in their lives. The service lasts a little over the hour.

Children are very welcome. They usually stay in for the first part of our worship and then leave for a time of learning together. 

​On the 1st Sunday of the month we share bread and wine together as part of our worship. People stay around after worship to chat over a tea or coffee. Hopefully you’ll find we are a friendly, welcoming bunch of people.

What should I wear?

Whatever you like (within reason!). There is no dress code.​

Will I have to join in?

The simple answer is ‘no'. You are very welcome to sit and observe. But we hope that you will find our meetings engaging, thought-provoking and spiritually refreshing.

Do I need to give money?

Definitely not! We don’t believe visitors should pay for church. The regular members are deeply grateful for what Jesus has done for them and are committed to this church. Therefore they give generously, sacrificially and joyfully.

Our Vision & Values

We believe in a loving God who is as real today as he always has been. He showed his love to the world in a very special way more than 2,000 years ago by sending his son Jesus into the world, becoming both human and divine, in which he lived and died for us.  He continues to show us his love and mercy today, and has the power to change the lives of those who are open to him through the work of his Spirit.  

We believe that Jesus, as revealed in the Bible, is our authority in matters of faith and behaviour. The Bible is the relevant Word for us today. So what we learn together and how we aim to live our lives centres around what we know of Jesus through reading the Bible. We aim to hold the Bible in one hand and today's news in the other, making the link between God's unchanging truth, and our ever-changing world with all its problems, and moral dilemmas.

​We believe that God’s love is for sharing. So we aim, in many different ways, to share his love with those who live in our community. God is at work in every community and we aim to discover what he is up to in ours, and then join him in the transformation of places, communities and individual’s lives. We long to see God changing communities and lives, bringing wholeness and hope, restoring joy and peace, providing focus and purpose.​

​Our CHURCH COVENANT

As Christians, we take seriously our commitment to love one another, our town and God.
This commitment is formalised in our Church Covenant which is affirmed at various moments throughout the year.

The following Covenant is foundational to our gathered life and identity as Christians within the Baptist tradition:

​We join together as a community of people who believe in Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him to be our Saviour and Lord; to renew our allegiance to Him and to one another.

We commit to love, admonish and encourage one another in our journey with Christ, helping each other to grow in faith, joy, and holiness.

We will seek to be worthy of our calling: proclaiming His word, observing His ordinances, labouring together for the salvation of men, women and children - for the glory of God and the common good of all humankind.

By His grace we now declare that we will seek to do these things. Amen

​Who's Who at Calne Baptist Church

Minister, Deacons & Officers (in alphabetical order)

Wayne Lawther (Minister)

Wayne was appointed our minister in March 2024. Wayne lives in Chippenham with his wife, Marie-Innocence, and their three children. Before joining Calne Baptist Church, he was a missionary in West Africa, a youth & children’s worker, and a community minister. Wayne’s hobbies include walking, cycling and football. He is also a bit of a Trekkie.

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Terry Mills (Treasurer/Trustee)

Terry has lived in Calne since 1973. He is one of a large family in Calne, most of whom live in or near Calne. He is married to Ros, and has 2 Children and 4 Grandchildren. He is also a trustee of The Open Blue Trust and secretary of Calne Table Tennis Club.

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Ros Mills (Trustee/Deacon)

Ros has been a member of the church since 1980 and has always had an interest in the work among children, helping with Junior Church and other young people's groups. She also gets involved with many activities at the church and within the community and enjoys being with people.

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Therese Walker (Trustee/Deacon)

I moved to Calne just before Christmas 2022 and share a home with my husband Luke. I was born in Switzerland and after my compulsory education I came to the UK to learn English. I did some further studies which led to me living in Austria, Spain and New Zealand for some time before settling back in the UK.
I have two grown up children who live in Bedfordshire. I work as an administrator for a local Children and Adolescent Mental Health team. In my free time I love baking for everyone's enjoyment at church with a cuppa after the service. I have a heart for people and am looking forward to getting more involved in the church family and the local community.

Imogen Willgress (Trustee/Deacon)

I settled in Calne in 1996, not far from my birth place of Clyffe Pypard – though I have lived in Australia for eight years. Since 1986 I have been a resident of beautiful Wiltshire. I retired fairly recently from teaching at a local secondary school and soon filled my time with an allotment, cooking for friends, outdoor activities and some charity work. I am currently chairperson for the Sir John and Lady Bodinnar’s Trust, which helps residents of Calne who have sudden financial crises.

I thoroughly enjoy being a part of our worship family at this church and strive to know God more closely and listen to His guidance.  Helping with hospitality at church functions is one of my strengths. I am looking forward to the day when our present building is redeveloped and we have a purpose built kitchen!

David Witchell (Trustee/Deacon)

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Jenny Woods (Secretary/Trustee/Deacon)

Hello, I am Jenny Woods and have lived in Calne since 2015 having moved here with Stan from South Wales and before that, High Wycombe and South London. We have three sons and nine grandchildren – hence the move to Wiltshire! We have worshipped and served in the Anglican, Baptist and Assemblies of God churches over the years and now at Calne Baptist Church we are pleased and challenged to worship and serve God both in the church and the community. I have a passion for prayer and families and continue my long association with Homestart here in Wiltshire. Hobbies include plants, singing and chickens!

Calne Baptist Church - Our History

The church began meeting in a home of Christians in 1655, during the time of religious freedom and nonconformist expansion ushered in by the Commonwealth.  They believed in independence from the state and practised believers’ baptism. However, from 1660, with the restoration of the monarchy, our people were persecuted by the Establishment, and had to meet in secret out of town to avoid arrest, fines or prison.  They used a field at Whitley, which became known as ‘The Gospel Bush’, and Moss’s Mill on the River Marden. 

At this time of oppression, they helped to keep alight the flame of freedom.  This pressure eased from 1690.  For many years there were two churches in Calne – St Mary’s Anglican and Castle Street Chapel, as we were known.

The church was small and continued to be led by laymen, until the Rev Isaac Taylor, aged 21, was appointed the first full time minister in 1776.  An evangelist and educationist, he spearheaded a forward movement, being active in Calne and surrounding districts, but he is mainly remembered for starting a Sunday School in 1804.  This was not only the first Sunday School in Calne, but also the first attempt to provide some basic education for the working children of the town – those who worked in the mills six days a week and had no opportunity to benefit from the relatively few places, for the wealthy, at the Day Schools.  Isaac Taylor was encouraged in this enterprise by the 1st Marquis of Lansdowne.

The first half of the 19th century was a time of ups and downs, partly reflecting the economic fortunes of the town. 
​The present building is of 1817, though altered and added to since.

During the second half of the 19th century and into the 20th century, the church grew and was increasingly community-oriented, particularly during the two periods of ministry of the Rev W H J Page.  A number of church members and officers served as town mayors; and others were involved in various social advances in the town.  The church was a major player in the 1868 provision of the ‘Nonconformist Cemetery’, in Curzon Street (now the town cemetery).  The background to this was that Nonconformists and Catholics could still not be buried in churchyards under their own rites. (Mr Page arranged for a Catholic lady to be buried in the Baptist graveyard so that a priest could officiate.)  This change epitomised their struggle for the full rights of citizenship, which had been denied them during a century and a half of bare toleration.

Community service continued, for example in the provision of special facilities for members of the armed forces during wartime.  Removal of pews and replacement by chairs with carpeting made the building more user-friendly and adaptable for other activities.

Of the four historical themes – freedom; concern for youth; equality; and service – the first and third have been met.  The struggle for freedom and equality is over and we relate to, and act with, other churches.  But the church still works in line with the second and fourth, where needs persist, with other churches if possible.

A full electronic version of our history is available upon application.

Who & What we support

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