The journey so far…
We have restored several of our historical stained glass windows, installed a state of the art audio-visual system and built a health centre in Burundi. Our partners reported that in May 117 children had been on the food programme. Although 2 had died, 30 had gained enough weight to be taken off the programme and the remainder are still receiving food twice a week. The mothers of some of these get extra bags of ‘porridge’ to feed to their children in between as they are so underweight. The dispensary is in now operation. Sadly the maternity unit opening has had to be delayed as it needs government authorisation to allow staff to be paid by the government, and this has been delayed as there has recently been an election.
We have contributed several hundred thousand pounds to the project, and promised even more.
We have presented our plans to the diocese, and have been made to wait for some months on their deliberations! We have consulted with dozens of folk in the parish on every aspect of the project, and incorporated the feedback into the latest plans and designs.
We have thought some more about the priority of the various elements of the project.
We held a fantastic promise auction, and enjoyed a wonderful May Ball. We can click our way to funds through www.easyfundraising.org.uk, and it’s open to each and every one of us to take up a fund raising idea. If you have a great idea about how you could raise funds, or you would like to lead or support a team, please let Jan Burbridge know – we have a flier just on this subject posted on the CBP page of St Mary’s website.
What’s next?
The PCC has been reviewing the project in light of the delayed Chancellor’s decision on what we can do within the church, and the current low level of funding. Just over £350,000 is in the bank with a further £350,000 pledged. However, in the economic slowdown, we may not be able to depend fully on those pledges.
We’ve taken the opportunity to look more closely at similar local projects to see what we can learn. Since the project started, we’ve seen many new members, and increased use of the Centre, including the Easter Project.
We remain committed to all four strands of the one project, and they will run in parallel to the extent that this is practical and the funds are available.
We will, though, place an increased emphasis on the rebuilding of the church centre as the more urgent requirement, moving towards a new design and outline planning permission as a priority. We have set a target time for starting to build of twelve months from now ie July 2011. In that time we will need to specify the outline requirement, select the design and build construction company we wish to use, agree full planning diagrams, obtain planning permission, raise the remaining funds needed to complete the project and agree the finalised design with the company. As we are all aware from our experience to date, there are many pitfalls in this process that may cause timescales to extend, but we feel it right to at least have a target to go for, and trust that the various decision making processes inside and outside the church, can be managed accordingly. Plans are being drawn up on this basis.
In parallel with this focus on the Centre, we will commence work on the church itself in bite-sized chunks which will be decided upon once the Chancellor’s decisions are known.
We continue to seek guidance on overseas mission projects, and welcome suggestions. We may wish to consider financing some running costs of the Burundi Health Centre to ensure its operational utility is not limited by lack of funds, but it may be more appropriate for these to be made available out of general mission funding within St Mary’s rather than capital funding within the CBP.
We have also concluded that work on the organ should wait for the work on the church to be completed so that it isn’t affected by the dust created by building work. This will also provide time to further evaluate what is the appropriate level of cost in respect to the options we have for various degrees of refurbishment.
What’s does this all mean for us?
We keep coming back to God’s provision for this project, to be released through his people.
- Please pray about how and what you should contribute to the project
- Consider whether you can take on responsibility for a fund raising event
- Pray for our approaches to trusts and other bodies able to provide money for this project
If you could contribute produce or craftwork, please contact Gill Utting – we’re looking for everything from jam to chutney, pottery to needlework, batik to watercolour, knitting to metal work, plants to wood turning and beyond! There will be opportunities to buy tickets for the lunch after church – please see Steve or Karen Girdler to make sure of your grub – Adults £5 and Children £2.50. All proceeds will go to the Church Community Building Project. You can contact Gill on 01737 832654 or kenutting26@gmail.com, and the Girdlers on 01737 243381 or karen.girdler@ntlworld.com for more information.
