Forward Momentum Newsletter Issue 17

Renovation Update

 We are almost there! The final finishing touches are now taking place. Specially designed cladding has been installed around the two columns at the back of the church, complete with cleverly concealed doors that can be opened during tours to reveal the historic graffiti behind. Integrated leaflet storage has also been built in, helping to keep the space both welcoming and uncluttered.

The new chair storage unit is now in place, and the lighting has been carefully adjusted so that each area is illuminated exactly where it’s needed. Most striking of all is the transformation in the chancel. For the first time in the church’s history, it is fully lit and the difference is truly remarkable.

Activity Update

With the finishing touches almost complete, on a freezing day in February, a cohort of volunteers helped to load and unload four full truckloads from the storage unit back to the church, alongside the complete retrieval of items from Priors Hall Barn. It was a significant logistical effort, but thanks to the energy and teamwork of our volunteers and the project team, everything made it safely back to St Mary’s.

One of the real joys of the day was seeing a lovely mix of familiar faces and new ones joining in. This move marks the beginning of the final phase of the building work. With the official handover for internal completion now done, we are preparing for the next stage; unpacking, sorting, and restoring the church’s belongings to their rightful places. Over the coming weeks, volunteers will be invited to help open boxes, organise materials, and set up the spaces ready for our reopening.

The village of Stebbing has had a postcard hand delivered to invite everyone to our opening service on 29th March at 4pm. We are very excited and this promises to be a historic event as we celebrate being back in our restored church building.

The following Easter Saturday we will be holding an open day, with a variety of activities to take part in, or for people to simply pop in and browse at their leisure. Our new Cornerstone Café will be open, serving a selection of hot drinks and specially made biscuits and other sweet treats; there’s plenty going on and something for everyone; including children’s crafts and egg hunt.

And finally, we were delighted to host our first ever Volunteer Celebration event at the Stebbing White Hart. It was was such good fun! We rolled up our sleeves and made our own pizzas. There was lots of chatting, laughing, comparing toppings and of course eating our creations.

 We had a little awards moment too — every volunteer received their very own pizza-inspired medal and certificate. Here’s a flavour of some of the awards: the “Barbecue Chicken” award went to Louise Milner, for being “creative, bold, and always willing to try something new.” The Way Forward project lead, Rhoda Herbert received the “Spicy Inferno” award, for being “passionate, driven, and unstoppable!”

All volunteers also received a thank you card and a small spice bottle to take home. A simple gesture, but a heartfelt one.

We are so incredibly grateful for the time, skills, encouragement and good humour our volunteers bring to The Way Forward and St Mary’s. It felt really special to pause, sit down together and celebrate them properly. Everyone was encouraged to write down what volunteering meant to them, along a pizza theme, and it was heartwarming to read the responses.

There’s plenty planned in the months ahead. We encourage you to check the “What’s On” section of The Way Forward website regularly.