Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Find out more...
Find out more about the project plans and proposals in our first newsletter - Autumn 2008
Next Event - Launch of Arts @ St Mary's
An opportunity to find out more about the plans for this new community arts facility.
Everyone is welcome
Arts @ St Mary's
St Mary's Old Church
Tuesday 25 November
7pm - 8.30pm
7pm - The Old Church - Welcome - Revd Jonathan Clarke
Performances
“I’d give anything” & “Look Inside”Performed by Step by Step(Bridie McGrail, Esme Davies, Mychelle Scott, Rebecca Verlander, Siobhaun Hollis, Year 9 Stoke Newington School & Sixth Form)
Songs written and composed by Esme Davies
7.30pm - refreshments, question and answers - New Church Rooms
7.30pm - refreshments, question and answers - New Church Rooms
Acoustic music by: Daisy Smith & Alice Parrington - Year 10 Stoke Newington School & Sixth Form
The Plans
St Mary’s Old Church is a well loved building in Stoke Newington. Dating from the 16th century, with its warm red brick and overgrown graveyard it gives that corner of Clissold Park the feel of a small country village.
But this small church, which was once the hub of the community, is now underused and falling into a state of decay and disrepair. It was replaced in the 19th century by the much grander St Mary’s New Church, which stands opposite.
With the prospect of major fundraising needed to simply upkeep the building, the Parish began exploring ways in which the old church might not only pay its own way but become a centre of use by the whole community of Stoke Newington, irrespective of religion, race or gender. The result is the proposal for an arts facility that is accessible by all groups of Stoke Newington society.
The vision builds on the current use of the Old Church as a venue for musicians who are attracted to its atmosphere and good acoustics, despite the lack of heating or toilets. Without sacrificing atmosphere it will create a comfortable, flexible space where community groups, professionals and students from the school can create, perform and display their work. With resident theatre company Common Air carrying out education work with young people, and a centre manager working to reach out to marginalised groups, the Arts Centre will be a venue that welcomes all sections of our local community.
With plans, planning permission and development grants in place we are now entering a major fundraising phase to raise the £1.5m the project will cost. From January, 2009 fundraising events are being staged in both the old and new churches on the first Sunday of every month under the banner Arts @ St Mary’s. We will be continuing to consult with local residents and visitors to Stoke Newington with regards the sorts of activities they would like to see at the new centre and welcome comments and feedback either in person, via the Parish office or email: stmarystokenewington@btinternet.com
St Mary’s Old Church Development Committee
But this small church, which was once the hub of the community, is now underused and falling into a state of decay and disrepair. It was replaced in the 19th century by the much grander St Mary’s New Church, which stands opposite.
With the prospect of major fundraising needed to simply upkeep the building, the Parish began exploring ways in which the old church might not only pay its own way but become a centre of use by the whole community of Stoke Newington, irrespective of religion, race or gender. The result is the proposal for an arts facility that is accessible by all groups of Stoke Newington society.
The vision builds on the current use of the Old Church as a venue for musicians who are attracted to its atmosphere and good acoustics, despite the lack of heating or toilets. Without sacrificing atmosphere it will create a comfortable, flexible space where community groups, professionals and students from the school can create, perform and display their work. With resident theatre company Common Air carrying out education work with young people, and a centre manager working to reach out to marginalised groups, the Arts Centre will be a venue that welcomes all sections of our local community.
With plans, planning permission and development grants in place we are now entering a major fundraising phase to raise the £1.5m the project will cost. From January, 2009 fundraising events are being staged in both the old and new churches on the first Sunday of every month under the banner Arts @ St Mary’s. We will be continuing to consult with local residents and visitors to Stoke Newington with regards the sorts of activities they would like to see at the new centre and welcome comments and feedback either in person, via the Parish office or email: stmarystokenewington@btinternet.com
St Mary’s Old Church Development Committee
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Why bother having churches?
Why bother having churches? It’s maybe not a question that crosses your mind very often, but when you've got two expensive listed buildings to keep up it's quite a pressing issue. And no, it’s not because no-one comes (come along Sunday morning and see) – it’s because they’re expensive to keep up, expensive to heat, and apart from Sunday mornings they’re not used very much.
But then - when people come into the New Church (the big one) the reaction tends to along the lines of 'what an amazing building'; it is quite an extraordinary space. When you spend as much time in there as I do, it’s easy to forget that most people don’t often go into places with as much self-confident Victorian grandeur as GG Scott’s mini-cathedral. (You can almost hear the brief for the job: ‘Make it imposing! Make it dramatic! Make it bigger than anyone else’s church for miles around!’)
The Old Church gets quite a different reaction – variations on 'how cute / quaint'. In particular, people love the smell, which is slightly odd as it's the smell of damp and gentle decay. I don't think anyone would be happy if their home smelled like that. But it's one way of thinking about churches, as a sort of repository of aesthetic experiences. Not one that appeals to me, but I suppose it might appeal to those who would like churches to be museums of some sort.
I don't think of myself as a curator.
So what else might churches be for? I'm sure they're not just for religious people to do religious things, because that's not what I think religion is about. If religion is worthwhile at all (which I know is a big 'if' for a lot of N16 readers), it's because it helps people (religious or not) to live fuller and more human lives. In which case churches are there, or should be there for people to do anything which will lead to that end. Churches shouldn’t just happen on Sunday mornings – they should be full all week of whatever it is the local community needs to do to enhance its life.
That’s the way churches used to be: the nave, the main bit, was the people’s place. It was only the sanctuary which was reserved for religious stuff. Then pews came along, and the whole space became pretty much unusable except for sitting and listening. Did yo know that Stoke Newington’s first school is the little room to the left of the Old Church’s main door? It was built in the 1560s, and naturally enough it was added on to the only public building in the parish, the parish church.
But if that’s what churches are for, it means an end to the romantic mustiness, I'm afraid. You just can't have 'museum' churches and places which serve the community. It's active/accessible/healthy & safe OR quaint/damp/old-fashioned. You can't do both at the same time. Which would you rather?
Revd Jonathan Clark,
St Mary's
This article was first published in N16 magazine.
But then - when people come into the New Church (the big one) the reaction tends to along the lines of 'what an amazing building'; it is quite an extraordinary space. When you spend as much time in there as I do, it’s easy to forget that most people don’t often go into places with as much self-confident Victorian grandeur as GG Scott’s mini-cathedral. (You can almost hear the brief for the job: ‘Make it imposing! Make it dramatic! Make it bigger than anyone else’s church for miles around!’)
The Old Church gets quite a different reaction – variations on 'how cute / quaint'. In particular, people love the smell, which is slightly odd as it's the smell of damp and gentle decay. I don't think anyone would be happy if their home smelled like that. But it's one way of thinking about churches, as a sort of repository of aesthetic experiences. Not one that appeals to me, but I suppose it might appeal to those who would like churches to be museums of some sort.
I don't think of myself as a curator.
So what else might churches be for? I'm sure they're not just for religious people to do religious things, because that's not what I think religion is about. If religion is worthwhile at all (which I know is a big 'if' for a lot of N16 readers), it's because it helps people (religious or not) to live fuller and more human lives. In which case churches are there, or should be there for people to do anything which will lead to that end. Churches shouldn’t just happen on Sunday mornings – they should be full all week of whatever it is the local community needs to do to enhance its life.
That’s the way churches used to be: the nave, the main bit, was the people’s place. It was only the sanctuary which was reserved for religious stuff. Then pews came along, and the whole space became pretty much unusable except for sitting and listening. Did yo know that Stoke Newington’s first school is the little room to the left of the Old Church’s main door? It was built in the 1560s, and naturally enough it was added on to the only public building in the parish, the parish church.
But if that’s what churches are for, it means an end to the romantic mustiness, I'm afraid. You just can't have 'museum' churches and places which serve the community. It's active/accessible/healthy & safe OR quaint/damp/old-fashioned. You can't do both at the same time. Which would you rather?
Revd Jonathan Clark,
St Mary's
This article was first published in N16 magazine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
