New fundraising begins to mend the church roof and make the church a community hub.
In the run-up to the 250th birthday of the Jewellery Quarter’s St. Paul’s Church, a new fundraising effort aims to raise £250,000 for its 250th birthday. It all starts with a fete on the August Bank Holiday Monday 30th August. There will be music, dance, food and craft stalls as well as the official launch of the fundraising.
The money is needed to mend the church’s leaky roof, update the church’s interior for more community use and help advance the church’s role as a community hub.
And you don’t have to wait for the fete to start donating. You can contribute to the fundraising now by going to: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/16856#!/DonationDetails
Having been there for the JQ community for nearly 250 years, the church needs consistent and significant spending over the next few years to retain its position at the heart of its community for centuries to come. With the launch of its new appeal at the Bank Holiday fete, the church and its enthusiastic fundraising team will also begin a research project to help identify what community services residents and businesses want from St Paul’s Church and St Paul’s Square.
Rev David Tomlinson says the opportunities for developing the church’s community services are exciting:
St Paul’s Church has been at the centre of life in the Jewellery Quarter for generations. Now, as the church approaches its 250th birthday, it falls to our generation to keep our church up to date, relevant and fit for the future.
The church is a Grade 1 listed building, with all the additional responsibilities for maintenance and repair that this entails. It is an iconic landmark, set in the beautiful St Paul’s Square, its spire visible from the City Centre and for miles around. It is home to a wide range of faith-based activities, providing shelter, hope and support to all-comers.
The host community, inspired by faith, has already made it a home for a wide range of community activities, providing an outlet for art, heritage and cultural events. Now we want to work with our community to decide how to develop these activities – and perhaps add to them.
St Paul’s Church has a seating capacity of nearly 400 and is blessed with one of the finest acoustics in the West Midlands. No wonder then that it has a deserved reputation as one of the most popular performance, conference and exhibition venues in Birmingham. The churchyard, green space and Square – the JQ’s “village green” – offer a generous space for social gatherings, performance and hospitality – the last JQ Festival attracted over 1,000 people.
The fundraising team are making their plans for the Bank Holiday Fete this year. Mark the date: Monday 30th August at 11.30AM and join the fun while contributing to an important project to mend the church and make it the community hub the Jewellery Quarter needs and wants.
