Parishioners and church members of St Nicholas Church in Dersingham are delighted that the church can now expand its work and ministry, thanks to new facilities including a kitchen, accessible toilets and a baby changing area.
Following years of work behind the scenes, grants and fundraising, the ‘new look’ church was officially opened to the public on Saturday 9 November 2024.
Revd Mark Capron said: “It is awesome that these facilities are now ready after so much hard work, they will make a huge difference to the life of the church; including the worship, the baby and toddler group – which is full to capacity, and the Baby Basics charity serving new mums in need”.
The official opening and cutting of the ribbon was jointly conducted by Doreen Linford, a cherished member of the church family who recently celebrated being 100 years young, ably assisted by some of the younger members Niamh and Aine Archibald.
The cost of the project was in excess of £100,000. Grants were provided by Benefact Trust, Garfield Weston, The Beatrice Laing Trust, Geoffrey Watling Trust and the Co-op. A generous donation was received from the Friends of St. Nicholas in respect of the new toilets, and a legacy from Tony Luckhurst.
A huge community fund raising effort was focused around the two church tower abseiling events, with 100 people abseiling the church tower and there were many other personal donations. All this support enabled the work to begin in July completing in time for the celebration.
In order to make the toilets accessible a significant height difference in the tower floor needed to be removed, when it was excavated archeologists attended to ensure that was nothing of interest being disturbed by the work. A ‘Time Capsule’ containing pictures of the facilities before the work and of all the key people involved, and a list of all those who had generously provided the finances was placed behind the new paneling where it may be discovered if anyone is working in that area again in the future and provide a history of the project.
A visit to the Church today clearly shows the quality of the workmanship by Robson Construction and their dedicated and understanding building manager Rob Bunting who was in the Church from 7:30am every weekday for almost 4 months.
At the official opening celebration, Revd Mark shared thanks for all who enabled the project to become a reality. This was followed by a prayer of blessing and the ribbon cutting.
Revd Mark said: “The result is a fabulous looking and practical improvement to the church, we thank all those who have helped to make this possible and for God’s faithfulness in the provision of skills and finances, we look forward to using it well into the future”.
www.stnicholasdersingham.org.uk
Contact: Revd Mark Capron 01482 297293
