Development of the Church Building
Our recently completed successful fund raising has enabled us to begin a number of projects to improve and develop the range and quality of what the church can offer. These started in 2007 and will be completed during 2008.
The work being undertaken is:
Ø restoration of and improvements to the organ
Ø development of areas inside the main entrance to create a café and bookshop
Ø installation of a new sound amplification system
Ø installation of more efficient heating boilers
Ø improvements to the interior lighting of the building
As at the end of January 2008 the organ work has been completed as has the new sound system. The development of the café and bookshop area is underway, with the expectation that the building and refurbishment will be completed by August 2008. This is later than the original completion date, which was initially scheduled for Easter 2008. The café and bookshop are planning to open in early September, provided the main work does not, again, fall behind schedule.
Planning is continuing for the new lighting, although installation will occur later in 2008.
Information on work in progress will be updated here in August 2008.
Update on "The House on The Rock"
As the re-ordering of the ‘West End’ finally starts to take shape we can at last start to look to the future for the new space which is being created. We will have a new door facing The Rock and a lighter, brighter interior which we hope will help to encourage more people to visit and use our church building. Moreover, it will be a building which is open through the week.
The new space allows us to set up our own shop, to be known as The House on The Rock. We shall provide Bury with a Christian bookshop which will sell a wide range of books as well as greeting cards and gifts. This will also include a coffee shop, selling freshly ground coffees, teas and light refreshments. You would have to travel a long way to find a more impressive setting for a nibble!
This isn’t just a place for ‘Parish Church people’, or even for ‘church people’. We hope to establish our shop on the map of everyone who likes to take a rest and a drink as part of their visits to the town centre. Everything you can do to encourage your friends and relations to give us a visit will be greatly appreciated.
This is a completely new venture and it will of course take us time to get everything to run like clockwork. In particular, we can’t yet see what our staffing needs will be and, at least in the short term, we are going to have to depend quite heavily on voluntary help; if you would like to join the team, please let me know as soon as possible.
The shop will be run as a commercial venture and it will be important that our standards of service are first rate. I will therefore be arranging short staff training sessions towards the end of august for all our volunteers.
The shop has huge potential to bring something new into our church in so many ways and I am grateful both for the opportunity to lead the project and for all the goodwill that has been shown – before we have even started. I will keep you up to date with progress in future reports. But you mustn’t rely only on the website – only a personal visit to the House on The Rock will give you the full picture. Opening soon!
Many thanks for all your support.
Nigel Rushworth (shop manager)
