The Countess Free Church is a church based in the centre of Ely,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, which also holds events across the city. The church meets on a Sunday morning at 10.30am and also has activities and groups for people of all ages through the week, including a strong community focus by hosting meetings mid-week. The church buildings are located in Chapel Street, near

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

Mission and vision

The members understand themselves as "a church in mission across the city", with a tag-line of ''"Seeking to Worship, Seeking to Serve"''. The church functions as a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church, practising believers baptism and a congregational governance model.

History

The Countess of Huntingdon Free Church Ely was founded in 1785 by Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon. The church is part of the

Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For many years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist ...

, a small

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

denomination of just over 20 churches. During its history it has also been part of the historic

Congregational Union Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

. The congregation now is baptistic in nature, practising believer's baptism and having a congregational model of church governance. In 2019 the church also associated with the Eastern Baptist Association, a region of

Baptists Together Baptists Together, formally the Baptist Union of Great Britain, is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. Hist ...

in the United Kingdom. In recent years the church has been at the forefront of city-wide initiatives in partnership with other churches in the city, such as Ely Foodbank, the Ely CAP Debt Centre, and an in-school chaplaincy in the local secondary school. With the city growing, the church is active in considering new pioneer opportunities among the new housing estates.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 52, 24, 3.82, N, 0, 15, 44.35, E, display=title Ely, Cambridgeshire Churches in Cambridgeshire Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion