The idea
Since flooring was renewed and LED lighting installed here, Christ Church, Isle of Dogs has become a popular venue for community events, seminars, fitness classes and elderly people's activities. We want to make the use of Christ Church even more flexible. We want to replace 20 heavy, plain, dark oak bench pews with 100 light, stackable (30 high) chairs and the trolleys to store them on. This will allow us to clear the floor space completely for large community gatherings and enable the building to be laid out to suit the activity that is taking place. This is a project for the community, and we'd like to invite the Isle of Dogs and wider community to support it.
What we'll deliver
- Provide well-designed comfortable seating for 100 people
- Create more community space for the Isle of Dogs
- Build relationships with new groups of users
Why it's a great idea
Christ Church has always been at the heart of the community on the Isle of Dogs. Most local families have a wedding photo , proudly displayed on the mantelpiece, taken of the happy couple in the front doorway of Christ Church. Churches are an underused resource in the UK. When there is such pressure on community centres and school halls, it makes sense to open our churches for issues and activities that are important to us all, health and fitness, community safety, young people's activities, tea-dances and lunches for the over 60s, music and the arts, support of vulnerable people with foodbanks and nightshelters. Christ Church wants to be able to throw open the doors and say 'You are welcome' - to be able to do this we need your help.
Steps to get it done
- Apply for permission to make the change of pews to chairs from the London Diocesan Advisory Committee
- Sell the existing heavy pew benches
- Take delivery of 100 new stackable chairs
- Stage a public re-opening of Christ Church's public space.
