Little St Mary's Parish Centre Development Project

Little St Mary's is proposing to extend and improve its existing facilities, creating a new Parish Centre

Little St Mary's witnesses to the living presence of Jesus Christ in our world. We meet Him in both word and sacrament, and seek to be drawn into the life of the living God through the worship which we offer in our sacramental life together.

As part of this life and worship, we are sent out from Him to serve the neighbour in whom we recognise His Risen Presence. We move outwards to embrace our neighbour in the world.

The Parish Centre is part of our response to this. It is both an act of faith and commitment to the continuing part Little St Mary's will play in the new millennium, and a practical engagement with our own and our community's immediate needs.

We are called to create the Parish Centre:

to sustain and develop our Christian fellowship and witness as a living City Centre church in the years ahead;
to extend our outreach within the local community as part of our social responsibility, and to provide an open amenity in a changing neighbourhood;
to emphasize the important architectural and archaeological features of the church and its surroundings, and in particular the distinctive wild churchyard garden.

For the Little St Mary's community:

We expect to develop the fellowship and witness of Little St Mary's as a Christian community.

A Flexible Space

For prayer and meditation, for small-scale musical events, and for educational purposes (for both adults and children), we would have a flexible space with up-to-date equipment and facilities. Sound-proofed doors will give us two separate rooms when necessary, allowing two meetings to take place concurrently, or subdivision of a large group; there will be access to the lavatories independent of the Centre's main rooms.

A Safer and more Spacious Place to Meet

We would have a larger and safer space for our many important social events, such as refreshments after Mass on Sundays where the combination of the elderly, small children and hot coffee is currently quite dangerous. At the moment, numbers for lunches and suppers have to be restricted because of lack of space. The re-sited and enlarged kitchen would have increased counter space, and access to both meeting areas.

A Shared Administrative Area

We would gain a properly equipped ground-floor office for Parish Administration and for one-to-one interviews, to take the place of the present Office, inaccessible to the disabled, and with many negative health and safety implications. This would greatly assist the integration of administration into the day-to-day life of the parish.

For the wider community:

We intend to expand the work which Little St Mary's undertakes within, and on behalf of, the local community.

Existing Projects...

We would be able further to develop our current projects such as the Spirituality Group and Play Reading Group for people with mental health difficulties.

...And New Projects

We would look to establish a facility such as a drop-in centre to be open over lunchtime on Mondays, to provide a relaxing and welcoming environment in which those experiencing the problems of loneliness or unemployment would be able to meet.

A Facility Available to the Community

The Parish Centre could be let for outside meetings or day conferences, small scale musical events and social gatherings.

The new parish centre will provide:

an enlarged and flexible meeting and social area;
an accessible, enlarged and effective parish office;
improved kitchen facilities;
more efficient heating and hot water systems;
accessible lavatory facilities.

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