St Martin’s is known as a welcoming church, and our vision is to build on that in a big way. The Covid pandemic encouraged us to focus on what matters to the people in our community. We have been responding by improving our facilities and Widening Our Welcome . . .
We are Widening Our Welcome by:
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responding to the needs of our Parish community of 10,000 people – including children and families, and those disadvantaged by loneliness, disability, hunger, poverty, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic;
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making the church building warm and inviting, and improving disabled facilities.
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Will you help us to achieve our vision?
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We have a fundraising target of £100,000.
The Worcester Diocese Kingdom People vision speaks of healthy churches and their members being ready to engage with and serve their communities. That’s our vision too!
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The building projects are in phases, according to the most urgent needs.
Phase 1 - Lower Vestry Level
We have opened up the undercroft of the church for use by disabled people, including level access through two external doors, and an accessible toilet with baby changing facilities. The totally refurbished Lower Vestry provides a meeting room for 50 people, including dining space and a fully fitted kitchen.
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We took the opportunity to start this work while the use of the church was limited during lockdown, and the Vestry refurbishment was completed in 2021.
Charity Grants
We are very grateful to the following charities who have helped us to fund the works in Phase 1:
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National Lottery Community Fund Fund
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Allchurches Trust
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Laslett's Charities
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Edward and Dorothy Cadbury Trust
Phase 2 - Main Church Level
We are improving the facilities serving the main church (upper level), to make it more welcoming and comfortable, not only for services, but also for its many other uses, including children’s activities, concerts, school visits, and social events.
We started by building a new storage area to keep everything tidy. Integral with this is the entrance to the now enlarged and improved toilet facilities, which include a larger toilet for disabled use. We felt these improvements were most urgent (our previous facilities didn't meet modern standards) so we took out a loan to cover the costs. We need to repay that loan.
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Further works will be announced as we progress. New and emerging community needs will be a continuing challenge in a changing environment, and we want to be ready to address them.
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Will you help us to achieve our vision?
Please help us now if you can. All contributions to our WOW Projects Fund will be gratefully received.
Please add Gift Aid if you are eligible.
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Thank you!