The Church Buildings Working Group (CBWG) was established by the PCC to consider how our church buildings can best work together to support the vision and mission of St. Andrew’s: to be rooted in the Bible, open to the Holy Spirit and deeply prayerful. We are blessed to have a number of physical assets, and in scope are the St. Andrew’s Histon church building, the Stable Room and the St. Andrew’s Centre, plus their outdoor spaces.
The CBWG led a brainstorming exercise at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in May to gather ideas. They undertook a consultation with 22 church user groups and individuals within the church. They also reviewed a report provided by the organisation Growing Hope, who audited our church for welcome and accessibility, particularly concerning individuals with additional needs.
On the back of this work, they have pulled together a buildings strategy for our three church buildings. You can find the strategy here.
A particular focus of the strategy is welcome and accessibility. The CBWG will be looking at some quick wins that we can make across our three buildings. Quick wins are defined as no cost and reversible. So you may see a few small changes that they are trialing over the coming months, particularly in the church building, and they would welcome your feedback.
Longer term the CBWG are considering options for the church building and Stable Room and will keep the congregation updated on this.