This project, initiated by Motherwell South Parish Church will develop our existing buildings to properly facilitate and considerably expand the many church and community activities supported by our congregation. The project will be phased.
Phase 1 - will be a new-build extension on our own land adjacent to our current buildings and (as Phase 1A) a conversion of our current sanctuary into a Games Hall, meeting room and storage facilities
Phase 2 - will rebuild or refurbish the remainder of our current buildings in the next few years.
The project will develop a new community facility which will:
This vision was supported by the results of a professional community survey which we commissioned. This clearly highlighted a strong desire and need within the local area for enhancement and improvement of currently poor local facilities.
As a result, as a first phase our proposed new church buildings will incorporate:
> a community coffee bar with full catering kitchen (new build)
> a sanctuary/auditorium suitable for music and drama events and conferences as well as for congregational worship (new build)
> accessible toilets and office space (new build)
> a games hall and meeting room (refurbishment of existing sanctuary)
The remainder of our existing accommodation (small kitchen, crèche and hall) will continue in use until rebuilt or refurbished as Phase 2 of the project. Planning Permission and Building Warrant have been obtained from the local council for Phases 1 and 1A.
Phase 1 is anticipated to cost around £883,000. The congregation will provide more than 50% (around half a million pounds), including around £275k raised by direct giving and the remainder by using existing funds and a comprehensive fund-raising programme. The rest of the cost will be met by external funders who have so far pledged £280k to the project, with additional awards still to be determined.
Who will benefit? Community members with “special needs” Within our Parish boundary we have several Schools including a “special needs” secondary school for which our Church has Chaplaincy responsibility. We intend to help with the vocational training of pupils of this School where we can, by providing work experience placements in our community café and opportunities for social interaction for students who regularly visit our weekly church coffee morning. There are approximately 200 students in the school, many of whom will benefit from our project. We have received a letter of support for our project from the Head Teacher.
There are also several sheltered housing complexes with which our Congregation have close links, most notably the Voluntary Association for Mental Welfare (VAMW). Better facilities will allow us to further strengthen these links, for example by allowing VAMW clients to use our premises for social activities and providing facilities for staff training. We have received a letter of support from VAMW.
Young people At present, the Youth Organisations within our Church are booming, The Boys Brigade Company have around eighty boys across the three Sections and are unable to meet in the Church because of lack of suitable accommodation. Because of the increasing number of girls keen to join the Girl Guides, we currently run two separate Girl Guide Companies. This causes many logistical problems due to our outdated and cramped facilities. As a congregation we are convinced that having the appropriate facilities to provide a sound Christian education for our younger members can only be of benefit to both them and the community.
The Elderly The introduction of a full catering kitchen is envisaged to have a number of beneficiaries in the community in general. This facility will be available to all community organisations, but is expected to facilitate coffee mornings and lunch/high tea clubs, aimed primarily at the elderly and their carers. The Church currently organise a coffee morning once a week which is well attended by both the congregation and local community. It is estimated that around 100 people regularly attend the coffee mornings; with our planned facilities, it is expected that this number would double over the course of the week, initially over three openings.
We already have a link with North Lanarkshire Carers Together who have provided grants towards work with the elderly in our community and establishment of a cinema club for the elderly.
The Local Community A number of external organisations currently use our premises, including drama, dance, weight-watchers and fitness classes. The congregation intends to organise and / or provide a variety of social, sports and fitness activities within the centre, thus contributing to the overall health and well being of our whole community. Our Community Café will initially be opened on three half-days per week with plans for future expansion.
Our community survey outlines that there is a need and requirement to provide facilities on the doorstep of people living in the community. Whether our proposed new facilities will be used for sport, health-related groups, career development workshops or a community crèche, what is obvious is a need to provide cohesion within our diverse community and we envisage the church will be the focus of activity for the people who live here. Ultimately, our congregation will build on existing relationships, form better bonds and provide a place for worship, community engagement and kinship for all parishioners, regardless of their background, and meet their individual, familial or group needs.
As the project develops, we anticipate providing employment opportunities for catering / admin staff.
We also intend to use our catering kitchen to assist the Motherwell Churches ReachOut project which provides hot meals to homeless people in the town. Current provision is on one night of the week in another church; we intend to provide the service on an additional evening.
Our Growing congregation We are a busy and growing church, and wish to continue growing. On some occasions in recent years our church has been “standing room only” on a Sunday. Our planned new sanctuary and its in-built expansion facility will ensure that everyone can be accommodated comfortably in future.
Recently our parish has been extended to include a significant area within the regenerated community of Ravenscraig. The Keystone Project will provide a base for work within the Ravenscraig community as it develops.
For further details contact the convenor of the Keystone Project Development Committee: John Maddock, 137 Manse Road, Motherwell ML1 2PS john@maddockfamily.plus.com 01698 251137 07974 033 990 