| "The Vision Thing" |
From time to time we hear people asking, "What is the vision for redeveloping and using the new church hall and rooms when they are completed." I suppose that those of us who have been talking about this in meetings and councils for what seems like years and years are a bit taken aback by such questions but then we have to realise that we can't have been very good at sharing what we've been talking about!
As was mentioned in the "How did we get here?" article, after the completion of the church extension in 1989 there was a growing common vision of Sheldon Road as a Seven Days a Week Church.
The vision is to reach out to and serve the local community of west Chippenham - not just the streets immediately around the church where very few of us actually live. It was also mentioned that when neighbouring houses came up for sale some wanted us to buy them to provide space for daily community activities.
When briefing the architects for the current plans we spoke to all the groups who use the hall new about their current needs and future plans and ideas.
Among suggested uses/actiivities envisaged are:-
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dedicated facilities for young children - playgroup and toddlers
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| rooms of various sizes for groups, both church and community, to use |
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possible lounge/recreation area for 'Saturday Dads' and their children, as well as others
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facilities for an everyday drop in cafe
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community based, church-run courses - the Marriage Course, How to Drug Proof your Kids etc.
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more space for Junior Church groups, currently 4 or 5 groups share the hall
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various mid week youth activities going on at the same time
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a light, bright, welcoming entrance to the whole church complex - "like a modern cinema", someone once said, "Inviting; making people want to see what's going on in there"
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more suitable office/administration space allowing people to drop unannounced with enquiries about weddings, baptisms, courses etc.
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a minister's surgery time
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a kitchen of suitable size, shape and layout to serve hot or cold refreshments for up to 100+ people on a regular basis.
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Of course the question of personnel to do all this and more is still relevant and important. However, having or getting the personnel before we have the facilities to use would seem fairly pointless. If we believe this is the direction God wants us to go in we must trust that when we have the facilities the personnel will be found or provided.
David Stranks
(for the Awareness Raising Group) |
