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Rebrand as Norwich church changes its name 

A Norwich church has changed its name for the fourth time in its 170-year history transforming from Surrey Chapel into CityGates Church Norwich.

CityGates lead pastor, Andy Rees, said: “We were thinking about how do we reach people today in our community in NR3 with the good news about Christ.
 
“The name Surrey Chapel is not well known in Norwich and the name does not mean much to most people in the city. Neither the words Surrey or Chapel really represent us.”
 
It is actually the fourth name for the church, which started off 170 years ago as Bazaar Chapel, then Ebeneezer Chapel and then Surrey Chapel.
 
The church moved in 1985 from its former site on Surrey Street, where the John Lewis car park in now located, down to Botolph Street, the former site of the Shoemakers Guild building, which was extended.
 
“It has been painful for some people, as the name was very precious to the church family,” said Andy. “But we don’t want to simply look to the past but to the future as well, so we looked for a name which is fairly neutral, which will not date but which puts us geographically where we are.
 
“We are close to two of the old city gates, within the old city walls. Biblically, city gates are very rich in Scripture and where victories were proclaimed from in the Old Testament. We want to be a church which proclaims the great victory of Christ over the enemies of sin, Satan and death. We want to be a place of safety and security where people can come with all their worries and concerns in life.”
 
Read more about the church at: www.citygatesnorwich.org
 
Pictured above is CityGates Norwich lead pastor Andy Rees.
 

Keith Morris, 17/11/2022

Keith Morris
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