Projects WITHAM METHODIST CHURCH BUILDING SCHEME September 2006 saw the completion of the Church's building scheme, which included the provision of a new café and entrance foyer, linking the original 1860's chapel and the 1960's church; and a complete refurbishment of the entire premises, including raising the floor levels, to ensure complete disabled access to all parts of the complex. Our aim was to upgrade the entire premises, to meet the needs of the local community, and the church, in the twenty first century. We can now offer: Bright, modern and attractive premises, with full disabled access A welcoming coffee area, and Christian lending library A large hall, a smaller hall, the foyer, the church itself, and several meeting rooms, all of which are available for hire on a one-off or regular basis A catering standard kitchen, available for user groups A comfortable, attractive and welcoming church, with modern seating Modern toilets and baby change facilities Improved acoustics, heating, lighting and seating in all areas The Architect for the scheme was Richard Horley, of the John Finch Partnership, Chelmsford; the building work was carried out by Smith. Construction and Design, of Great Wigborough, Colchester. Building work took five months, and cost approximately £235,000. Community use of the premises continued throughout the building operations, thanks to the cooperation of the builders. To date (September 2006) the church has raised £81,000 towards the cost of the work, and a further £114,500 was received from Methodist and other charities and trusts. Bookings are now being taken from organisations and individuals, for regular and 'one off' use of the premises. Organisations requiring a regular venue for their events are invited to contact Jean Dane (01376 521022) or Patrick Ripton (01376 516141) initially,to discuss their requirements. Booking for 'one off ' events may be made through Mr Stan Wright (01376 520550). The church particularly welcomes bookings from helping organisations; a number of such groups already use our premises, which are available at very reasonable rates. The main meeting rooms available are:- Foyer size 28x16 feet - Church Hall size 24x18 feet - Guild Room size 13x12 feet Community benefits and mission. The Vision:- The purpose of this scheme is to enable the Church to expand use of the premises by modernising the facilities and improving the quality of the accommodation to make it more attractive, flexible, welcoming, comfortable and accessible to all people in the community. Circumstances:- Witham is currently expanding with 850 new dwellings and substantial industrial expansion under construction on the Maltings Lane green field development and several hundred more dwellings on the redevelopment of the former Bridge Hospital site. The District Council is also considering housing development on the Spring Lodge community centre site with the consequent loss of a substantial part of the community ball area currently available for the town. We see this large population growth in the town as a significant opportunity for increasing the already substantial use and letting of the Church halls. That might be the basis for mission to bring a significant proportion of the existing and new population to the Lord. Improved and enlarged premises in a town centre location with parking and public transport reasonably nearby offer more appealing accommodation than the existing rather "tired' and uninspiring, though well loved, buildings. It would also enable a wider range of activities and scope for some concurrent different uses. Part of the project is therefore to make and recruit more use of the premises. A Church Development Group is to be established to plan and implement this fundamental element of the project. Community Mission:- The church has a number of associations with disabled folk and helpers, including the mentally ill and those with learning disabilities. We are considering whether this may be a direction in which to focus our mission and community development Other potential areas include the substantial number of elderly and single people in the locality and the scope for occupational therapy, learning and counselling. We also need to address ways to provide relevantly for, engage and attract young people and families. For the church itself there is acknowledged to be need for greater prayer life, bible study and spiritual development to be under-taken in parallel with and as part of the expected growth through mission. Pastoral care of the members includes support for the hard-of-hearing, poorly sighted, immobile, house bound, isolated and distressed. Environmental, health and safety considerations and opportunities. It is important to recognise the risks and opportunities in such a project for environmental impact and improvement and the hazards to health and safety for which the Trustees and individuals are Statutorily responsible and liable. These need to be assessed and addressed in the planning. Identification of the improvements in a wide range of environmental improvements in energy consumption, waste minimisation and control of water, economy and sustainability of raw materials use etc are important in their own right but can also improve the prospects of some external funding. A start has been made in outlining some environmental considerations and assessing H&S risks and mitigation measures and in the area of improvements in safety, security and health protection that can be incorporated in the project. Funding of the Building Scheme. The substantial financial cost and effort to raise funding represents a challenge and leap of faith for the Witham Church; a small congregation of which many are elderly, retired or invalid and few are financially prosperous. Nevertheless we are thrifty, generous, friendly and caring and have maintained a tradition of sound financial management. Church 'giving' roughly covers the Circuit Assessment and letting income has covered normal running costs even though 'rents' for community and social use by Groups with limited funds are kept affordable rather than economic. Hire charges vary according to our understanding of ability to pay. This will constrain the increase in charges that we might make to help pay for the improvements scheme. For many years we have run regular fundraising events including monthly 'coffee and Bring-and-buy" evenings or mornings raising several £00 per year. The annual Christmas Bazaar has yielded £1,000 in recent years. It is planned therefore to build on these efforts and introduce other means of income from the community such as running a regular Saturday coffee and lunch place using a roster as many people in the congregation as possible to "man" the operation. Boot, garage or home sales by individuals or members or supporters for church funds will be encouraged, together with craft, art, musical etc programmes, exhibitions and sales. Individual sponsorships on behalf of the scheme may also be possible. The Property and Finance Committee will be developing ideas and identifying opportunities for individuals to lend, donate, bequeath, pledge and so forth. Project Management. Responsibility for proper planning and management of this scheme will fall to the Property and Finance Committee. It is essential to deliver it within budget, on time and to required quality. The Architect needs to be instructed and required to produce a project plan and programme of work. In this it is desirable also to minimise disruption of use of the premise during the construction, not least to sustain income and retain tenants. We need also to determine all users wishes, expectations and willingness or ability to accept some change and unavoidable disruption. We will seek to assist temporary relocation where necessary and practicable. Not least we may investigate any opportunity for partnership with users in fund raising, especially from charitable external funding bodies. Delegation of roles, tasks and programmes is needed very soon. If you wish to help contact Pat Ripton 01376 516141 Donations may be sent to D. Gillespie at 18 Witham Rd., Wickham Bishops, Witham CM8 3NQ Please note that your gift will be worth more if you include a Gift Aid Declaration with your donation. This currently adds 28p extra for every pound donated. (You must pay income tax equal to the tax the charity reclaims on your donation within the tax year of the donation) A suitable form is given below or you may request one from David Gillespie How our Restoration Project will support and promote our Mission: 1. The renovation and revitalisation of our buildings' physical structures will reaffirm, visibly, our beliefs, faith and evangelism of our Mission. 2. The enhanced facilities will further support and encourage those organisations working within and for the interests of the community. 3. Our dedication to the process of outreach will be assisted by the provision of modern premises consistent with the expectations and needs of the community. We are determined to encourage new members from both the existing community and that being created through the new housing development. 4. As Trustees of our Methodist inheritance and of the property in our care, we are charged with good stewardship and husbandry. The proposed restoration is consistent with meeting the present and future needs of our own congregation as well as the wider needs of the community. 5. Careful consideration has been given to a number of smaller improvements and routine maintenance items, to ensure they might be most economically and beneficially incorporated within this larger scheme. Please remember to pray for the success of our project and that the future of our witness in Witham will be assured. Funding Sources A big thank you to the following organisations which have contributed to the realisation of our vision for the future. This list is correct at 18-08-2006 and will be updated as necessary. Methodist Funding Bodies London Committee, Methodist Church. Methodist District. Methodist Circuit. CAPF Manchester Local Methodist Members  Trusts and Corporate Bodies Marsh PLC. Essex Fairway Trust. Fowler Smith & Jones Charitable Trust. Charles S French Charitable Trust. Garfield Weston Fund. Beatrice Lang Trust. Mulberry Trust. Essex Environmental Trust. Osborne Trust. N & N settlement. Joseph Rank Trust. Ford of Britain Trust. Builders and Architects Builders - Smith Construction and Design. Architect - John Finch Partnership