18 July 2024
On Maundy Thursday Christ Church, Colchester, were handed the keys to their newly finished ‘community hub’.
Just hours later the building was full for a Good Friday Workshop with over 150 people from the local community experiencing great hospitality, craft, hot cross bun baking and a little taste of the Good News of Easter.
Construction work began in October 2023 to improve the church building which was originally built in the 1970’s. An extension with a new larger kitchen and refurbished accessible toilets has resulted in better facilities and more space for both the church family and the wider community.
The new building was designed to have a positive impact on the environment without increasing the church’s carbon footprint. Additional insulation was added during the project to maximise energy efficiency and ducting was put in place to prepare for the future installation of solar panels once additional funds have been raised.
As well as receiving individual donations and grants funding, the church ran many community fundraising events - afternoon teas, flower arranging events, jazz nights and more – to support the project.
Revd Chris Smith, Priest-in-Charge at Christ Church said:
“It was fantastic to see our new building full of people for our Easter weekend celebrations!
“Christ Church has an amazing ministry of hospitality – to arrive as their new vicar and see the way they welcome people has been a real privilege. There are lots of midweek groups which run for the community, and the people who attend these really do consider Christ Church their home even though they are not yet part of the Sunday Congregation.
“The motivation behind the building project was to create a sustainable building for greater use by the church and the wider community.
“The refurbished building provides space for us to grow as a fellowship and improved facilities to demonstrate our natural hospitality to the local community. “This is why our teams have worked so hard to fundraise and see the ‘Community Hub’ project through to completion – may Christ Church continue to be a place where the community know they are welcome and loved.”
This article was originally featured in our quaterly prayer diary, WePray.
