Published: Wednesday, 8th October, 2008 9:25am

Our plans to redevelop St Saviour's church

Comments (0) | Print | Email

A letter to the Chronicle from the Rev Billy Fenning, senior leader of St Saviour's Christian Centre, regarding the proposed redevelopment of the church.

"We are extremely sorry to hear that some local people with historic connections to the church have been upset about our plans.

"However, despite what has been claimed, we have made no secret of our intentions to replace the current church building with something which better meets the current and future needs of the congregation and the local community. In fact, prior to submitting our planning application we invited local residents to view the plans and to discuss them with us.

"A number of local residents responded to that invitation and attended a briefing at the church on the 15th of June this year. We made it clear that we were available to meet and talk to anyone at any time and therefore we were somewhat surprised by the strength of feeling that has recently come to the fore.

"It is over 20 years since the Reading Elim Church, having been situated for many years in Waylen Street, took over the building at Berkeley Avenue and saved it from becoming yet another block of flats which have surrounded the church ever since. Indeed, it was I that led negotiations with the Church of England Commissioners, who had already closed the doors on the church due to negligible congregations, to ensure that it remained a place of worship.

"I am pleased to say that it now houses a congregation of 250 and has a thriving programme of community activities including mums and toddlers groups, youth groups, children's groups and lunch clubs. We are also active on weekly basis with the community centre in Coley, we have links to local schools, provide a fun day every July totally free of charge and provide open air services in the town centre.

"The truth is that the current building is no longer able to accommodate the growing needs of this community church. For example, our youth and children's activities are curtailed by the layout of the church and with the burgeoning costs of maintaining the building it will take away from our ability to resource other aspects of our outreach.

"We appreciate the iconic nature of the building and want to make use of some of that in our new building. For example, we want to maintain a large proportion of the stained glass. Anyone who has seen our plans will know that we are looking to build a high quality church facility in place of what is already there.

"It has not been our intention to upset anyone. We genuinely want to engage with the local community. We have over 20 year's connection with the building and with the community of Coley and look forward to serving in it in the years ahead.

"I would ask all those who have historic links with the church through christenings, weddings and funerals or singing in the choir but who have not attended for many, many years to come and see what a vibrant, community church we have and how we very much need a new building to meet the future needs and challenges of the Coley community. They would be made very welcome."