Update on Renewal Plans for our Hall

As a part of the Renewal and Development of the Christ Church site, we are planning to build a new community centre. This will replace our current leisure centre which has served the community for the past 40 years. Our intention is to create a larger, better equipped and more flexible building that will meet the needs of the local community for years to come.
We have been discussing with local councillors, an opportunity to make an application for 106 Development funds which, if successful, will give us a substantial contribution towards the costs of the new building. We intend also to release some of our own funds and apply for further grants from other bodies to complete the works.

We have the full support of the Old Town Church leaders and are consulting with other Old Town community groups, and other interested parties to ensure that we can reflect their needs in our designs.

We are setting up a working group, a sub group of the Christ Church Development & Renewal group, who will manage the development stages of the project. This will include members from the church, council and community representatives.

As an important feature of the Old Town conservation area, we are mindful or our responsibilities in preserving the unique and historic qualities of our site and will be working closely with Conservation and Heritage experts to ensure that our development is both sensitive and effective. Later on this year we will also host an open day to provide more information on our plans.

Although at an early stage, we are working towards submitting a fully costed plan to council planning by the end of this year. If you would like to find out more or get involved with the project, then please contact Stephen Grosvenor on 01793 341043, email him on mailto:s.grosvenor@gmail.com or read  and comment on our Renewal Blog at http://christchurchrenewal.blogspot.com/

 

The Development & Renewal Group

Repairing the roof and Solar energy use

I’m sure the Church would look very nice with all the stonework cleaned but since joining Christ Church back in 1959I have always been hearing about the problems we are having with the roof. As we get high winds up on the hill one feels the roof is an ongoing problem we have to live with. With this in mind, and I’m all for having it cleaned,but I wonder will these stains turn up again in five to ten years time.

Having said this I like most of the other proposals, especially replacing the pews with chairs. I was very impressed when I met our PR Lady Sara at the first meeting we had at Christ Church. So I feel with God’s help we will get all the funds that we will need for these projects.

There is one thing that worries me and that is no mention of renewable energy. A few years ago when I invested some of my money in a wind farm I found people were very negative towards the project. I would like to say now that the return is better than I’m getting on some of my building society accounts. Now I’m going to have solar panels (PV) to generate electricity put on my roof and still getting the same negative feedback like “I suppose you know what you are doing“.

The way I look at it, is that this great energy we get from the sun, wind, and also these fast flowing rivers is God given and free so we should harness it. I know Christ Church is a listed building but I heard of a church that is a lot older than ours in London and they have there solar panels put on a building very near to the church.
 
By the way, I will be getting paid for some of my electricity that will be fed into the grid so I feel it could be a good investment for Christ Church. As the price of electricity is not likely to go down over the years I feel as time goes by it’s becoming a better investment all the time.There are now a lot of churches in the UK that are enjoying the benefits of solar panels, so I hope
Christ Church will be joining them.

Very Best Wishes with all the projects and looking forward to seeing the improvements.

An Interesting article about Pews

Many churches have been refurnished through the centuries, and parishes will rightly wish to consider whether their existing furnishings are suitable for their needs. But changes to seating will make a significant alteration to a church and will need careful thinking through to make sure that the best solution is reached. Read More at churchcare.co.uk

Governance and Responsibilities - Renewal & Development Committee

We have formed a number of different committees and groups over the past few years to manage the day to day running of the various fund raising, planning and development activities at Christ Church. These have made valuable contributions to the Development and Renewal process and have set the stage for where we are now.

It is important to have a clear committee structure so that everyone knows who is involved and what the decision making process is, so we have simplified our existing committees and groups and below, provide a list of the current members of the group.

The Development & Renewal Committee
Chair: Sara Tye mailto:sara@redheadpr.co.uk
Members: Dave Godfrey Dave.godfrey@blazie.co.uk
John Michaux johnteresamichaux@hotmail.com
Teresa Michaux johnteresamichaux@hotmail.com
Daniel Pitt fdPitt@yahoo.co.uk
Gareth Hutchinson Gareth.hutch@Yahoo.co.uk
Claire Beaton clairebeaton@waitrose.com
Ian Walters Ianwalters21@sky.com
Mike Palmer Michael.Plamer@networkrail.co.uk
Ailsa Palmer michaelailsa@O2.co.uk
Peter Ford Peter_Ford@sky.com
Simon Stevenette Simon.stevenette@tiscali.co.uk
Stephen Grosvenor s.grosvenor@gmail.com
Pamela Bridgeman pamelabridgeman@btinternet.com
Lynda Fisher lyndaefisher@hotmail.co.uk


A subcommittee of the P.C.C that exists to provide, both strategic and detailed, planning recommendations to the P.C.C. on aspects of church development and renewal. This covers:

• Development target setting and measurement to enable us to measure the success of our plans.
• Managing a strategic overall plan to deliver the renewal vision.
• Liaising with specialist suppliers and consultants to get ideas and ultimately costs and plans for roof repairs, heating, lighting and sound systems, sustainable energy such as Solar panels.
• Organising and managing fund raising appeals
• Communicating progress both within the church community and in Swindon and beyond.A more detailed description of our full governance process and our other committees and groups is available in the introduction to our Annual Report which you can find on the website at: (or from the parish office) http://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/PDFs/annual%20report%202009%20final.pdf
  
  
  

Comments received about the Christ Church Renewal Proposals

We received a number of written comments via various means. We have summarised them in [this document]. We have also included comments received about the Christ Church development plan.

If you would like to comment further on any aspect of the renewal process then please contact us either by commenting on these pages or by email to the parishoffice@christchurchswindon.co.uk

Caring for the planet - Renewal

Following the architect's draft proposals and our congregational review and consultation, we are seeking to get a firmer idea of what has been done elsewhere in churches across the country. We are particularly interested in understanding more about using God's resources more effectively.

Have a look at some of the links below for more information about what is being done

Saint Silas - Solar Panels Project

St Mary's Ealing


http://www.lightperceptions.co.uk/studies.htm

http://www.lukehughes.co.uk/galleries/index.html

Comment on the pews

I think that we should have a better idea of why we are moving the pews. They form an important part of the traditional church and whilst uncomfortable are integral to the Sunday experience. I like the idea of a entrance area at the back of the church - this will avoid the scrum we often get a the end of services. I don't think the toilet pod is a practical idea - it will be too big for the space we have.

Renewal 2010

For some time we have been thinking and praying about future plans to ensure that our Church Building remains at the heart of the community and is able to continue to be fit to serve our worship and the community in the coming years.
It is important that everyone understands and is able to input to the decision making process about any changes that may be made .We will soon be embarking on a further major consultation with our friends and congregation to decide how best to ensure that Christchurch remains at the centre of the community in Swindon for the next 160 years. Please pray for all those concerned with trying to put across a clear vision and keep an eye on the website for more details.


Read the architects Proposal                                           Read the architects Brief