St John’s and St Peter’s Church Ladywood (SJSP)

St John’s and St Peter’s Church Ladywood, in Birmingham. It sits just outside of the legendary Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham. St John's is a grade 2 listed building originating from a mission to the area from St Martins in the Bull Ring. The governors of the King Edward VI schools had also agreed to allow a site on their property. 

On the 28th September 1852 the foundation stone was laid by Frederick Gough, 4th Baron Calthorpe., and it was consecrated by Henry Pepys The Bishop of Worcester on 15th March 1854. St Peter's Spring hill was built in 1901 and closed as an Anglican church in 2001, when it was then combined with St Johns to make a new and larger parish. The interior of the church was redeveloped between 1994 and 2005 when The change was completed.

St John's is positioned with two busy roads on two sides and quieter ones on the other two, thus making the church into a somewhat island. The church is a popular performance space for the Ex Cathedra choir, because of its great acoustics. Due to the modernisation in the 2000s St John and St Peters (SJSP) has great flexible space allowing for concerts , plays, youth activities and for schools to use, alongside the community.

SJSP has a church hall which is used everyday and during the holidays for children and young people activities, the hall also has a stage. During the weekend the hall is used for dance classes and another church. It also has a small hall available for small meetings or changing areas should it be needed.

Presently a service with Holy Communion is held on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month, with a service of the word on the second Sunday and the focus on all age worship on the fourth Sunday of the month. All services start at 11am and end with fellowship time around tea, coffee and cake. The creche area is available each week and children and young people have separate groups during the service. 1 Timothy 4:12 is the children and young peoples guiding selection of scripture. 'Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.'

SJSP attracts a wide range of people from different walks of life and from different ages. Thechurch is inclusive through its accessibility components such as automatic doors, a slope for wheelchairs and buggies. It has one disabled toilet with low lighting and a changing area for babies and toddlers. 

On each Sunday between 30 -50 adults and children attend SJSP. It is a growing family with a commitment to growing their children and youth ministry, and toembrace the future changes and challenges, the children and young people face as well as the church as a whole. The church has a lively youth ministry and children's groups.

Within the local area there is a primary church school which is now a part of an Academy. SJSP work closely with the primary school , as governors and visitors to the schoo, There is also a secondary school within the area which is not a church school but with which St Johns and St Peters are keen to make friends.

 Prayer is at the heart of their ministry and they hold two bible studies a week to continue to grow their faith and the ministry of the church.

The parish is large with a number of residential estates and an up and coming new housing area where cultures, class and age will mix. It is the hope of the church that they will be able to work with the new community of ,The Port Loop, as it has been named. Members of the congregation have already worked with the contractors and residents to explore faith through art. It is their hope that we will continue to develop more relationships with this new community as the homes and built and the new area grows.

St Johns and St Peters are a part of an interfaith project (LIEP) which has been running since the 90s. It runs across the areas of Ladywood and Spring Hill. The project is a partnership between Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and Muslims in inner-city Birmingham. The Interfaith project works across Birmingham with primary and secondary schools to explore different faiths and none, to enable the children to speak about their own faith confidently with each other.