The Problem With a capacity of just 100, St. John’s is bursting at the seams every week. Pews are filled to overflowing. Folding chairs fill the back and are squeezed into the aisles to provide extra seating, leaving little room to pass by. Ceiling fans whirring overhead can’t provide sufficient relief in the crowded sanctuary during the summer months. The average attendance during Sept-Oct 2015 was over 200 in a church that can only seat a hundred! Moreover, St. John’s has limited space for meeting. A temporary tent structure serves as a fellowship hall, and a repurposed shipping container houses Sunday school classes, with the 1 -14 Sunday school class meeting in a coffee shop across the road from the Church. The Solution St. John’s would love to be able adequately to accommodate its congregation, serve the children better during Sunday school time and have proper space for social interaction and fellowship. At the beginning of 2015, St. John’s began to consider a development project. In May 2015, they commissioned an engineering firm, International Design and Development (IDD), to look at how the site could be developed. In September 2015, they appointed a local architect. Plans are now well developed. They involve a westward extension of the church to include a mezzanine level and the redevelopment of an existing parsonage building to provide Sunday School, meeting rooms and a roof-top terrace. You can find an inspirational U- Tube video of their plans here: St John’s Casablanca. How You Can Help The current estimated cost of the project is 300,00 GBP. Promised donations so far amount to about 100,000 GBP. I would be thrilled if the diocese could raise a significant sum to help them on their way. St. John’s is a church of historical significance operating under special conditions in a majority Muslim country with an extensive ministry to Sub-Saharan migrants. As usual, we invite each chaplaincy to make its own arrangements for the collection of money towards the Bishop’s Appeal and then for the local church treasurer to forward collections to the diocesan office. With every blessing,
The Problem With a capacity of just 100, St. John’s is bursting at the seams every week. Pews are filled to overflowing. Folding chairs fill the back and are squeezed into the aisles to provide extra seating, leaving little room to pass by. Ceiling fans whirring overhead can’t provide sufficient relief in the crowded sanctuary during the summer months. The average attendance during Sept-Oct 2015 was over 200 in a church that can only seat a hundred! Moreover, St. John’s has limited space for meeting. A temporary tent structure serves as a fellowship hall, and a repurposed shipping container houses Sunday school classes, with the 1 -14 Sunday school class meeting in a coffee shop across the road from the Church. The Solution St. John’s would love to be able adequately to accommodate its congregation, serve the children better during Sunday school time and have proper space for social interaction and fellowship. At the beginning of 2015, St. John’s began to consider a development project. In May 2015, they commissioned an engineering firm, International Design and Development (IDD), to look at how the site could be developed. In September 2015, they appointed a local architect. Plans are now well developed. They involve a westward extension of the church to include a mezzanine level and the redevelopment of an existing parsonage building to provide Sunday School, meeting rooms and a roof-top terrace. You can find an inspirational U- Tube video of their plans here: St John’s Casablanca. How You Can Help The current estimated cost of the project is 300,00 GBP. Promised donations so far amount to about 100,000 GBP. I would be thrilled if the diocese could raise a significant sum to help them on their way. St. John’s is a church of historical significance operating under special conditions in a majority Muslim country with an extensive ministry to Sub-Saharan migrants. As usual, we invite each chaplaincy to make its own arrangements for the collection of money towards the Bishop’s Appeal and then for the local church treasurer to forward collections to the diocesan office. With every blessing,
Newsletter-2016-12-1.docx