IMAGINE it’s a Monday morning around 8am. Bert the manager unlocks the Christ Church Centre for the day and has a quick check round.

Just before 8:30am, Chris the vicar arrives and soon he is joined in the church by others for the daily prayer service. Soon after 9:00am Paul the curate and some regulars are sharing a coffee as the Pre-school playgroup workers begin to arrive. By 9:30am the place is busy with young mums and dads dropping off their children for the playgroup. When the playgroup first started it was just two days a week with a dozen children but quite soon it expanded to four days a week and twenty children.On Fridays it’s the younger children who come with their carers to the parent and toddler group. All morning the Centre is alive with the sound of laughter. 

The Centre is open all day now, so people drop in, either to be quiet in the church, or to enjoy a cup of tea with a friend or two. Workers from the nearby Business Park come during their lunch break and sit in church to pray.The Clergy and other staff are to be found in the Centre on most days either in the foyer with a cup in hand or working in the parish office (which doubles as a crèche on Sundays). It’s a good chance to catch them for a chat, ask for some advice, or to find out about a wedding or a baptism.The afternoons are a little more sedate, but still with lots of smiles and laughter to be heard. Every Thursday there’s a Lunch Club, with about thirty rather more elderly people from the area who come and have a hot lunch and a chat.  Afterwards, some relax in the foyer-lounge and enjoy a tea or a coffee. There are exercise classes and all sorts of meetings for local people who need some help or support.

In the evenings, the centre is buzzing with young people coming to Boy’s Brigade, Brownies and Guides. The enlarged Centre has enabled them to grow. At the end of the evenings, Mums and Dads chat while they wait inside to pick up their children. Most months, on at least one evening, you will find the Centre filled with people enjoying a meal together. Perhaps it’s a social event or maybe an Alpha course to find out more about the Christian faith. There are parenting courses, baptism and wedding preparations and a bereavement group who meet to offer support to one another.Around 10pm Bert comes back to make sure everything is locked up and ready for the next day. The Christ Church Centre is well-used and much appreciated.

Nice Story !  But what will it take for this to really happen?The answer is: your prayers, your enthusiasm and your money. We have firm plans for the Christ Church Centre. We’ve been working on  them for more than a year and you can see a copy of them in Christ Church. But now the time has come to build the Centre and to prepare to use it.PRAYERWe are convinced that the Christ Church Centre is something that God is calling us to build to help us share His love with the people of Warley. We know from experience that prayer changes things. So we want to ask you to pray each week that the project will go ahead, that it will be a blessing on the community and that we will all respond to God’s call to be part of what He is doing in Warley.On Saturday 2nd February Christ Church will be open from 10:00am to 4:00pm for a special day of prayer. Please come and add your prayers to those of others as we ask that God’s loving purposes will be fulfilled. 

ENTHUSIASMThe Centre will be an excellent building, but it will only make a difference in Warley if it is filled with love every day and only people can do that. Because we love God and he loves us, we can love others around us.

What can you imagine God wants to do here? What part could you play in inviting others? in welcoming them? in serving them? Talk to your friends, talk to each other, let them know that something big is happening at the Christ Church Centre and invite them to be part of it. MONEYThis is a significant project and it will take significant financial resources to make it happen. The estimate of the cost is £370,000. Already £150,000 has been committed, but we can’t build the Centre until the funds are available. We are approaching charities but most of the money will have to come from us.How much do you want this project to happen in your lifetime? When you set this alongside other things you invest in, how much do you want to give? The benefits of the Christ Church Centre will flow for years to come. God intends to change the lives of people in Warley for the better. What is that worth to you?From February 10th we shall be inviting pledges from individuals and households. These pledges will be a promise to donate money over the course of the next 12 months. If you pay tax, ‘Gift Aid’ your donation and the amount increases. If you want to know more about this use the contact us page.

So in summary:

  • We want to build the Christ Church Centre as soon as we can

  • We shall:

    • refurbish the existing hall

    • add a large and attractive foyer and entrance

    • build a bigger modern kitchen

    • create larger toilet facilities

    • extend the storage areas

  • We need a further £220,000 to make this happen

  • The Centre will be open and in use throughout the week

  • It will host a wide range of activities

    • for children and families

    • for young people

    • for the elderly

    • for those who need help and support

  • We are inviting you:

    • to pray that this project goes ahead

    • to get involved in building it and using it

    • to pledge your financial support to make it happen

If you have any questions about the Christ Church Centre or think you can help in a specific way please contact me, Chris Goldsmith (Vicar) 

 

: c.goldsmith@btinternet.com 

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PLEDGE FORM

Name……………………………………………………………………………...................

Address…………………………………………..………………………………………………………

Post Code……………….

I want to contribute towards The Christ Church Centre by:

     Giving a one-off donation of £…………………… enclosed / when building begins.

     Giving regular monthly/quarterly gifts of £…...........over one year
     First payment enclosed

Signed…………………………………………….Date……………

Please return the Gift Aid envelope to Philip Smith or Janet Bland.