(This page now contains a number of questions and answers from our recent vision events.)
Questions about communication
Where can I get more information about all this?
Come to one of the Vision events that will take place in 2010, and look around this website.
How can we ask questions and make comments as the process goes along?
There will be further Vision sessions as we progress and we hope that they will have even greater proportions of the time given over to plenary discussion, prayer and Q&A. You can also email via the EQUIP SJ website and all emails will be answered. You can also take the opportunity to informally discuss and pray about matters with members of the leadership team, church wardens and the rector at any time. It is important that we work through all our concerns as well as new ideas together as a church family.
If I email the ‘contact us’ address on the EQUIP SJ website who will receive the email?
The rector will receive all the emails and will work with the project team and wardens to give the clearest possible responses.
What about prayer?
Prayer will be central to the whole process. We will set up structures for prayer around every aspect of this EQUIP SJ initiative. If you would like to be involved in mobilising prayer then please contact our EQUIP SJ prayer co-ordinator, Janice Buchanan, here.
Questions about finance
What happens if we don’t raise all the money we hope to give away?
Once we have committed to the re-ordering of St James Gerrards Cross, the completion of this work will be our first priority. However, our commitment to each of the three funding areas will remain consistent throughout. The leadership and PCC see EQUIP SJ as a total package with equal commitment to all three mission contexts. With God’s grace we will do it!
Our target is to raise £1million net of tax recovered. How much will we raise gross and how will the recovered tax be used?
Tax recovered will depend upon how many donors are tax payers (we can recover the basic rate of tax paid by them). We have set a net of tax target at this stage because the original estimates for the re-ordering need to be updated for current building and decorating, AV, screen and chair costs. We will not know, until later in the year, the exact re-ordering costs. The potential tax recovery will provide us with a degree of flexibility in meeting the re-ordering costs but the plan is that the balance of any tax recovered after re-ordering costs will be used equally for the other two Mission Contexts. Based upon Project 2000 experience, we might recover tax on 80% of donations.
How will we ensure that we set money aside for Context II & III and still get the re-ordering work done on schedule?
We will not commit to the re-ordering until we have 90% of the necessary re-ordering funds pledged. To start the building work in the summer months of 2011, we would need to commit to the re-ordering work around Jan/Feb 2011. The PCC has agreed that we will set aside 10% of all EQUIP SJ pledges from the outset (i.e. make them available to contexts II and III) to show our commitment to outside giving (Love Africa and mission partners) from day one. The PCC has also agreed that should we sense that God is prompting us to make early commitments to either of Mission Contexts II or III at any stage; we will prayerfully seek to take that step of faith. When we built the St James Centre we made commitments to fund the building of the Toybox Salem house before work started on the centre.
Questions about St James, Gerrards Cross (Context I)
Can I see what St James Gerrards Cross will look like when the work is finished?
Yes, you can look at the short ‘walk through’ DVD which will be playing at the Saint James Centre, or see it here.
Why do we need to do the work on the church building when we have the Saint James Centre?
We use the Centre seven days a week and it is already at near capacity. To make the very best of all the facilities on the site at Gerrards Cross, the church needs to be flexible enough for us to use during the week. Sunday continues to be our most important day of the week and our services will need to continually evolve to reach out to visitors as well as to build up the people of God. These re-ordering plans will achieve that.
What will the re-ordered building be used for in the week?
We have lots of ways we think the building may be used once it is re-ordered with flexible space. Youth ministry, midweek children’s ministry, training events, events for other churches, midweek acts of worship etc. One of the things we have also learned from the Saint James Centre experience is that God has plans for how we use the building to his glory that we have not yet even thought of!
Will there be a communion table in the re-ordered building at St James Gerrards Cross?
Yes. There will be a communion table in the sanctuary. It will be in exactly the same place that it is now. It will also be movable so that it can be brought forward or even placed in the centre of the nave (main aisle) for other more informal worship contexts.
The walk through DVD and stills do not show any furniture in the chancel and sanctuary areas. Will it really look like that when the work is done?
The walk through DVD is only an impression. It is based on the architect’s plans but lacks some detail. Yes, there will be appropriate furniture and we will, for example, continue to use the eagle lectern for our bible readings. The sanctuary area will be carpeted.
With the new integrated extension and foyer area, what facilities will be available for our choir?
The choir will be able to rehearse and robe in the same place as they do now, with new storage for robes and other items. It will just be in the new space that will emerge from the re-ordered foyer and extension. A sliding partition wall can be closed so that the extension can be used for rehearsals while people enter and leave the church through the foyer. There will be a piano in the extension, with level floor access to the church, should the piano be needed in church.
What about access for the disabled?
There will be a new lift for disabled access. It will be in the same position as it is now but covered by the new canopy. There will also be a lift from the floor level of the nave to the sanctuary area.
What will happen to the current communion rail? The plans seem to show a different rail for the re-ordering.
We will have a communion rail and it will be in a straight line rather than curved. This is deemed by the DAC (Diocesan Advisory Committee) to be in keeping with the original features of the building. The rail will be removable for certain events should that be required. We also hope to use as much of the current rail as possible for the new one as the rail was dedicated in memory of Gladys Elvidge and we want to honour her memory in the years ahead. The rail will continue to be dedicated to her memory.
What will happen to the font?
The current plans provide for the font to be located near the North door of the church.
Are we going to have the chairs shown on the video?
The project team looked at numerous chairs from a variety of suppliers and we realise that not everyone will be totally satisfied with the eventual choice. The Diocesan authorities have specified that we cannot have both carpeting throughout the church and upholstered chairs (“too domestic”).
The Howe chair shown on the video has been approved by the Diocesan Advisory Committee for a number of other churches in the Diocese. It is already a modern classic (in production since 1964) and has proved very robust, comfortable and ergonomically well-designed – St Paul’s Cathedral has them, as do several churches in the Diocese (e.g. St Aldate’s, Oxford).
Will the chairs provide space for bibles and hymn books?
The chair manufacturers offer various options to provide space for hymn books and Bibles. The Project Team is very much aware of these requirements – we will ensure that there will be provision for Bibles, hymn books, etc, and that those who wish to use a kneeler for prayers will be able to do so.
Questions about Love Africa (Context II)
How can I find out more about what Love Africa has achieved in its first two years?
Our Love Africa website is continually updated with the latest information: www.loveafrica.org.uk
How can we be sure that the funds we give to communities in Africa will be used to target people living with HIV/AIDS?
The key to Love Africa is mobilising the local church. It is through local churches that we are seeking to facilitate transformation.
How will we know when we have ‘succeeded’ in our goals?
When a community can care for itself and is reaching out to others with the love of Christ.
Questions about transformational mission partners
(Context III)
How can we decide to spend so much money on the re-ordering programme rather than Love Africa and mission partners? Why would we not give more or all of the money to mission?
EQUIP SJ is about mission through and through. God has called us primarily to equip the local church for mission where he has placed us. This is our vocational priority. We already have around £190,000 that was given to Project 2000 for re-ordering and the other £500,000 (net of tax) we hope to raise as part of EQUIP SJ should complete the budget for the work. When we built the St James Centre we gave away £260,000 of the £3.4 million to mission beyond St James. This time we will clearly give considerably more. The EQUIP SJ fund breakdown between the contexts (£500 – £250 – £250) amounts to giving £1 away for every £1 we raise.
How will we find and select the mission-shaped partners for Context III?
Much as we did for the Saint James Centre outside giving. There will be a representative working group who will be asked to prayerfully seek out potential recipients and to hear representations from them. They will make recommendations to the PCC who will make the final decisions on behalf of the church family. This group will be convened and led by Andrew Shingleton, Chair of the Mission Committee. The PCC have asked this group to be particularly mindful of the needs of the UK church in bringing the hope of Christ to our own nation.
