Gathering Stories

The church known as Toxteth Tab has gathered in this place for 150 years. From its earliest years, when the Rev W.P Lockhart and others, prayed for the means in which a new church could be built in Toxteth, God has called people to be part of Toxteth Tab. Many of the stories here share about how God led different people (a varied bunch!), to come and gather together in this place. Maybe he is calling you to join us here too?

For most of the week the Tab church family are serving God where he has placed them – in schools, at home with family, or at work. Some may be dealing with illness, caring for others or trying to adapt to living in a different country. But we gather together regularly, on Sundays and other days, to meet with God, to grow our faith and to serve Him together.

Our gatherings aren’t just about Sunday mornings. Over the Tab’s history we’ve gathered to pray; including in this building, whilst walking the streets and in homes, to celebrate; Christmas and Easter, light parties, weddings, dedications, anniversaries, birthdays (both big and small – more recently including bouncy castles!), to encourage and share life; small groups, International Parties, groups for students and young people, picnics, quiz nights, recipe exchanges, and outside windows and on doorsteps during Covid, and to remember and give thanks; remembrance day, funerals and thanksgiving services.

We’ve also gathered and partnered with other churches in Toxteth; the Sunday School marching from the Ebenezer Chapel to the Tab led by the Sailors Chapel Band, Easter trails, youth work together, serving at Nefyn Camps alongside each other, and much more. In 2016, we gathered in a new way by joining with the Frontline Toxteth service that met in the building in the afternoon, to create a new Toxteth Tabernacle fellowship, and welcomed Dave Connolly as Pastor and Jack Sykes, a Tab church member, as Pastor in Training.

There have been times over the last 150 years when the church’s gathering has been disrupted. This has included during the bombings of the Second World War, during times when numbers in the church family dwindled, and during the most difficult years for the Toxteth Community in the 1980s. Most recently our gatherings were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tab closed its doors and had its first ‘gathering’ on Zoom, on Sunday 22nd March 2020. The church continued to meet like this throughout lockdown. Faithful members collated and delivered service packs so those with limited access to tech or printers could be fully included. The young people planned and led a number of online services, and many remember that sharing grace at the end was chaotic, but wonderful, due to the time delay across devices! The Tab’s first gathering back in the building again, was on 6th June 2021

How we do our Sunday gatherings may have changed over the years – we don’t currently use an organ or have a full choir, we do continue to ‘Zoom’ people in from their homes who can’t gather physically with us – but why we gather hasn’t changed. We meet to encourage each other in faith (Hebrews 10:24-25), to hear God’s word and apply it to our lives (2 Timothy 3:16), to worship God and build each other up (1 Corinthians 14), to pray together (Ephesians 6:18), knowing that our prayers are always heard (1 John 5:15) and to serve each other with the gifts God has given us (1 Peter 4:10).

The Tab gathers as a diverse church family, looking to enjoy each other and to make worship and God’s word accessible to all ages and backgrounds.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

See Community Stories and Welcoming Children & Families Stories for more of what the church does together as it gathers and serves.