After years of development, from the idea to the final completion of the building, the Lighthouse Church in Heswall was officially opened on 05 October 2023. The building sits on the same ground of the previous Church of the Good Shepherd and has been completely reimagined to better serve the community.
The seed of an idea to create a new church was first germinated 25 years ago. The church had been built in the 1960s, and by all accounts, it was very modern compared to most churches, which are hundreds of years old. But, although it was relatively new, there were many things about it that didn't quite gel with the parishioners and the local community. The location of the church was perfect, right on the main high street of Heswall, among shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes which made it a popular shopping and social destination for many on the Wirral and beyond. But the building itself, although set back just feet away from the path where many would walk past each day, was all but invisible to those who passed by. The frontage was largely comprised of a solid brick wall, with little to entice or intrigue the public to enter.
About eight years ago the church community decided that something had to be done and so they embarked on a mission to build a new church, one that would properly fulfill the needs of a church that had the energy to grow and thrive, but were simply being limited by the limitations of their building.
And so began a long period of planning applications, demolition of the old church, and construction of a new one, but all of this was only possible thanks to a monumental campaign to raise the funds to ensure that the project could happen in the first place. The total budget was £2.4 million. Rector Martin Cannam explained in his sermon during the opening of the church how one person gave £100,000 as a legacy in her will and that a child had donated his pocket money. "Whatever people gave, all donations were equally received by our church and in the eyes of the Lord".
The new church, now called The Lighthouse Church is fully glass-fronted, allowing people to see in and the life of the church to shine out into the community.
Bishop Mark, during his sermon, compared the Lighthouse Church to actual lighthouses, in that they serve as beacons of light and hope, but their real purpose is to protect and help those in need, to avoid danger or capsizing. He noted that "Heswall isn't too far away from communities and people on the Wirral that are struggling to stay afloat and that with God's help, light will shine on them."