Our Building
Development
Programme
Thank you for your interest in our
Open Door 60/60 project!
What is the purpose of Open Door 60/60?
Our church building is a vital part of our mission, embodying our values of hospitality and inclusivity. We are committed to making our church a welcoming and accessible space for everyone while nurturing God's creation. And we want to maximise use of our facilities for the benefit of all our neighbours, to help improve wellbeing, belonging and inclusion. Consultations with the local community also revealed the need for a hub in the community that offers more opportunities for people to come together, especially for the elderly, those experiencing social isolation or living with dementia.
However, our church does not currently meet the accessibility standards that are needed to offer this – as highlighted in an Access Report we commissioned with the Centre for Accessible Environments. Removing barriers to accessibility is a vital step towards providing a calm, tranquil space and outdoor haven for our aging population and their support groups.
What is the objective of Open Door 60/60?
The aim of this project is to make our church and garden more accessible, and turning the garden into a tranquil sanctuary where everyone can come to find peace and feel more renewed in spirit.
There are two phases to this project, which will put in place four of the ten recommendations from our Access Audit. Planning permission is already in place. Phase 1 involves building work that will provide easier access to our building and garden for people with a range of disabilities, but especially our elderly neighbours with mobility issues, who are currently unable to access our building and garden unaided. See here for more details about what is going to be done.
What does 60/60 mean?
The title of HPC 60/60 was launched in 2019 to celebrate the church building’s 60th anniversary. As we move forward with our HPC 60/60 vision, we aim to enhance our space to better serve and connect with the Hornsey community for another 60 years and beyond. We look forward to being the parish church at the heart of the community of Hornsey for at least another 60.
How can you help?
We are currently working hard towards raising the required funds to start the building development programme. You can help by:
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supporting our fund-raising events over the coming year - see timetable here
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organising a fund-raising event for us
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donating towards this project to help us help those in need - you can donate here
Open Door will cost about £156,000, of which we have now raised slightly more than half of this. Our target to raise is £67,000.
You may be in a position to make a personal donation towards Open Door. Having looked at the plans and ideas behind Open Door there might be a particular aspect you feel you would want to help pay for specifically. This could be in memory of someone special, or on your own behalf, and could be a celebrated contribution or an anonymous one. You can donate via BACs to the following account:
ACCOUNT NAME: PCC OF ST MARY WITH ST GEORGE HORNSEY PARISH
SORT CODE: 40-11-58
ACCOUNT NO: 30446025
BANK: HSBC
REFERENCE: OPEN DOOR
We also have a card reader in church, and are happy to accept cheques and cash of course. We will be very happy to discuss with you about making a donation if this is helpful.
Who should I contact for more information?
If you’d like to receive more information and updates about the HPC 60|60 Open Door project, please contact Fr Bruce Batstone, email: fr.bruce@hornseyparishchurch.org
Upcoming Fund-Raising Events
Here are some dates of our upcoming events for your diary. Watch this space as we firm up the dates for these events - please come and join us!
Jan 2025 Burns Night
Feb 2025 Gardeners' Question time
Mar 2025 Sponsored Walk
Apr 2025 Remembrance afternoon
May 2025 Songs from the Shows
Jun 2025 Auction of Promises
Jul 2025 Karaoke Pride Night
Aug 2025 Garden Party
Sep 2025 Black History month
Oct 2025 Quiz Night
Nov 2025 Beer and Hymns
Dec 2025 Carol Singing
What building development work is planned?
In our parish of Hornsey our commitment to make our church welcome to all and to nurture God's creation is leading us to take action. We started by commissioning an access report from the Centre for Accessible Environments and we have used that alongside recommendations from our Inclusion Group, parishioners and our Loving Creation ecological group to put our words and speech into action.
Actions on a bigger scale, to the physical fabric of the church and its environs have been what our Development Group has been considering. Our architect has been drawing up sensitive plans with designs that remove the barriers to entering and using the church spaces, whilst nurturing God's natural world in a way not considered when the church was first built.
Beginning with the porch at the front of church, a more accessible inviting and ecological entrance will be created. A new pedestrian entrance will be created directly opposite the porch, flanked with bike racks and flowerbeds. A gentle slope will lead one into the porch.
Inside the porch we hope there will be self-opening glass doors, allowing for easy wheelchair access while keeping out draughts. There will be wheelchair spaces within the pews and handrails up to the Lady Chapel.
We want to achieve level access to the garden from a new door beside the organ cupboard. Here the community can gather outside for quiet socializing and contemplation, enjoying the peace of our currently hard to reach garden. The memorial garden will be extended to include seating and will include a memorial to those lost to covid.
A second, later phase of the development, will provide large accessible loos leading off the nave will and a relocated vestry will provide a counselling room.
There is an exhibition of our plans in the church if you would like to find out more. The church is open every day.
