A window of opportunity!

THIS IS an appeal to the family of St John’s. For many months you will have been reading John Grainger’s reports on the    progress of the Church Centre Project.  Since we started the project we have had a complete redesign and by now many of us are starting to wonder if the project will ever deliver. On a visit to Barcelona I saw the wonderfully strange architecture of Antoni Gaudí. His Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) started in 1882. The project is presently scheduled to be completed in 2026.  On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, ‘My client is not in a hurry.’

I am not certain we are as patient as Gaudi, though we do need to remember the project is in God’s hands. For those keen to get on and do ‘something’, the first two phases of the project offer an opportunity to make a significant impact this year and next year. For these phases we could take money from the general building fund. Or we could rely entirely on fund raising events. The Parish Council has generously indicated they are willing to consider a Grant of £1000 when we have raised the rest of the funds provided it falls within their budget period. This week we had a setback in that the DAC has requested additional checks before granting the faculty to start the work. We should have felt disheartened by this news, had it not been for a Grant of £2000 from the Gatwick Airport Community Trust that arrived on the same day.

We sincerely thank the Gatwick Airport Community Trust. The purpose of setting up the Trust was to ensure that, as the airport continued to grow, funds generated by the existence of the airport should be made available to a board of independent   trustees and they should be directed back into the community that was affected by the airport and its continuing growth.

We would also like to thank everybody in the church who has given generously  already. We now only need a further £12,000 to put phase one (redecoration of Hall and windows) into action. This phase will deliver improved safety, insulation and a more attractive hall inside and out for a modest outlay. Today I appeal to you to consider making a significant gift to ensure the project gets off the ground.

Your gift can be financial or a promise of time. Now it is up to us to find the rest of the money before work starts. This is your window of opportunity to step up to move the project forward. We know that some of us do not have financial resources; don’t worry this is where your time comes in. We will need to decorate the hall  following the replacement of the windows. There will be a need for cleaning,     tidying, painting and, of course, “tea making” will be a vital support. So please give generously of your time or money.

Malcolm Francis

FAITH IN A GREAT GOD.....

HUDSON TAYLOR, the founder of the China Inland Mission, once said, 'It's not great faith we need, but faith in a great God!' I don't know about you, but I feel I need to remind myself of that when I think about the Church Centre Project – we seem to have been talking about it and planning and fund-raising for so long, yet we seem to be no further forward and the challenges can feel insurmountable! Yet there has been progress, as I'm sure you'll have seen when you read John Grainger's regular updates in the parish magazine, and God is answering our prayers; at each stage we have received the 'green light' to go ahead with the next step – and one of the major obstacles was removed completely when Tandridge gave us planning permission, quite contrary to our expectations!

In order to simplify the process and set attainable short-term goals, the PCC has broken the plans down into phases:

1a)To replace all the windows and doors in the hall/crèche, put up new curtains and redecorate. This will happen during the summer holidays, when the hall won't be used by the play-group.

1b)To re-surface the church car-park and put in better lighting; this will be       undertaken and paid for by the Diocese, and again should be completed during the summer, to minimise disruption.

2)To create a new play-area for the play-group and erect new sheds for use by them and the Guides, cutting back some of the shrubbery outside the hall/crèche – probably next Spring.

…..Which brings us to Phase 3 – the building of the new 'cloister'/extension (any suggestions as to what it should be called??), which of course is the biggest     challenge of all, not least because of the cost. We may be able to apply for some grants, but most of the money will need to come from us, the church family – as has been the case with the new buildings at Trinity Methodist and the Jubilee  Centre. We can look at this in two ways – either we can throw up our hands in horror and disassociate ourselves from the project – especially in the current    financial situation which affects us all – or we can step out in faith, expecting God to do amazing things in answer to our prayers, and being blessed as individuals and as a church as we experience His provision.

The option we don't really have is to do nothing at all; we need better facilities, a workable kitchen, more space, and proper disabled access. Just imagine how we could use these new facilities to reach out into our ever-expanding community!

We believe in a God of miracles – are we up for the challenge?!

Anne Butler

Fund raising

Do you work for a company that matches anything you raise for charity? If so, would you let us know and we could help you arrange an event that we could then get your company to sponsor. I know that some banks offer this sponsorship to their employees as long as the employee takes part and I'm sure there must be other companies who do the same. Please contact anyone on the Fundraising Team. They are: Lis Scott, Cecilia Bliss, Don Ely, Thelma

Manning and Ann Morley.