Space 2 Grow
Your Community – Your Church
“Nothing is impossible with God” – Luke 1:37
The Great Commission: ‘Go out and make disciples, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…and I am with you always to the very end of the age’ (Matthew 28:19-20)
Our Church
The Church Electoral Roll currently stands at 227 with average attendances of 103 adults and 71 children. There are regular Sunday services at 9.15am and 11am with the addition of a midweek communion service. The 9.15am Sunday service is a traditional communion service whilst the 11am service is a contemporary service offering a more modern style of worship.
In today’s society it is deemed unacceptable that any public facility should not have appropriate disabled access and adequate toilet and baby changing facilities. The increased number of church groups is driving a constant need for meeting and venue space as the activities undertaken are growing. Unfortunately, the small vestry and choir room we have are unable to fully meet these needs due to their size and lack of facilities.
We also have no suitable area for communal gathering following a service so that the congregation may spend time chatting over tea/coffee and developing fellowship which we wish to encourage within our church family.
Presently, the very poor facilities do not encourage people to see the church as a “go to space” and for the majority of the time it sits idle waiting for the next service to give it some life. As things stand, for most of the week, the church doors are closed. This paints a bleak and inaccurate picture to the thousands of cars that pass by on a daily basis. Sadly, whilst being one of the largest buildings in our community, due to its current ‘layout’ the building is often closed as it is not usable for many user groups.
Our Mission
The mission of the church, as Jesus commanded, is to go out and make disciples. In order to do that we need to have somewhere we can bring people to. A place that is fit for mission in the 21st century which offers the facilities the modern world requires.
Sadly, our lovely church building fails to meet those needs today. We therefore need to adapt the building so that it is fit for mission! Our aim is to make our church welcoming to all, a place where people feel comfortable and relaxed.
At St. Anne’s we wish to see an active church with regular meetings of our men’s and women’s ministries, youth groups, parent and toddler groups, drop in meetings, lunches for the elderly, family friendly activities, community groups etc.
To take us forward to our next stage of mission development we need modern meeting and function room space that facilitates community gathering, fosters the concept of a welcoming church and provides the facilities that will enable our church groups to flourish in the work that they do to support our community. We need a space that allows us to be flexible in our worship and use of the building so that it is used as a tool to reach out into the community with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Our Vision
The proposal is to re-order the church through the development of the West Wing, the installation of a raised platform to the nave and disabled access and seating.
The West Wing will undertake a significant development resulting in an upper gallery comprising flexible meeting space, with the ground floor becoming a dual function/meeting area for larger gatherings. A lift will provide access to the upper floor for disabled users and the entrance to the building will be lowered to enable improved access for wheelchairs. A suitably sized kitchen and toilet facilities with the provision for baby changing and disabled use are also incorporated. The proposal necessitates the extension of the upper gallery further forward into the main body of the church and the raising of the gallery floor. The area will be separated from the formal worship space by the use of glazing to the ground and upper floor. The use of glazing will provide for a continuous aspect through the church looking from the East Wing in order to maintain the symmetry of the current design.
Other alterations include extending the chancel into the nave allowing a closer connection between service leaders and congregation members. This would include a demountable communion rail for use as required. The area to the front of the nave would be utilised for wheelchair users.
The creation of this separate space enables the PCC to provide the congregation with a mix of the traditional and the contemporary that understands of the needs of its parishioners and respectful of the history of the building. The more traditional aspect of the East Wing, for regular worship, provides continuity with the past whilst the new West Wing will speak to a thriving mission both connected to and active in the community and welcoming of its visitors.
Proposed Plans
The proposed plans are available to download; click here.
How you can Help
If you’d like more information about the plans and the redevelopment, please speak to a member of the Redevelopment Committee;
- Ian Crowe
- Paul Roberts
- Tim Hughes
- Sarah Lanzarotti
- Pam Wilsher
- Karen Evans
If you would like to make a financial contribution, please speak to a member of the Finance team;
- Linda Brufell
- Caroline Blower
- Ann Harvey
There are many ways you can give to the project. For details please visit the church website where you can download all relevant forms, bank mandates etc.
A pack is also available upon request from the churchwardens, and you can download the Building Fund Giving Leaflet here.
Prayer: We meet each Tuesday at 10am for prayer. It would be great if you could join us as we pray for the re-development project among other issues.
Our Prayer
Dear Lord,
We give thanks for Your goodness. We pray for Your guidance, wisdom and provision as we embark on this exciting new project – ‘Space2Grow’ .
Give us courage to step out in faith, a boldness to give and a hunger to see Your church transformed, that St. Anne’s will truly be a ‘Space 2 Grow’ in faith!
Amen