Each September, the churches in the Halas Team in Halesowen come together for ‘HalasFest’, a joint service which celebrates the whole team and all they are doing in their communities. This year they were also joined by Bishop Martin who was able to dedicate a set of new toilets which have recently been built inside the church.
During the service, representatives from each church brought up items which represented their church, which were placed on the altar in the Lady Chapel. The whole ministry team was blessed by Bishop Martin and it was also a chance to celebrate improvements which had been made to all of the churches including the refurbishment of the well at St Kenelm, a new front door at St Peter, Lapal, a more accessible entry at St Margaret, Hasbury, refurbished porch entry at St Peter, Cradley and new ramps at St John.
Team Rector, Hazel Charlton, said: “All the changes that we’ve made have been about inclusion and accessibility. We want to offer the best possible welcome to anyone who wants to come into our churches.”
St John’s Church is one of our renewal projects. Our renewal churches are aiming to build a congregation of at least 150 people in each of our major population areas and will also be able to resource other local churches. Installing toilets into the historic building was a key milestone for the church – previously people had to be directed to the Wetherspoon’s pub opposite!
Bishop Martin said: “Jesus encourages us to challenge the status quo and do things differently. As a renewal project, the Halas team are being given the resources to do new things and reach out in new ways. St John’s Church has been in the centre of Halesowen for hundreds of years, adapting to each new generation. Now it’s our turn to make changes to our building that show we are open to all and open to God. It is a delight to be dedicating the new toilets today which will make this ancient and beautiful church more accessible and useable for the people of Halesowen. May God bless you all on this transformation journey and for all you do for him.”
A number of new people have begun coming to St John’s Church over the past few months.
Bella has just completed her GCSEs and began attending church after going to Donut club, which aimed to offer a safe and calm place for students to drop into after their exams and also on results day. Bella chose to be baptised a couple of weeks ago. She said: “Coming to church feels like home. The people are lovely.”
Bella’s Mum, Suzie has also joined the church. She said: “Bella wanted to come, but didn’t know how to join, so I went along to support her and have carried on coming. It’s always an hour of peace, quiet and calm in a hectic life. Everyone is friendly and welcoming, and you immediately feel like you are part of it.”
Karen has also recently joined. She is a wheelchair user and has been helping the church to become more accessible. She said: “The history of the church brought me in, but it’s the community being built which has meant that I’ve stayed. I’m trying to find out more about God.”
Churchwarden, Simon Eason said: “We want to do more events and activities in church and be as inclusive and welcoming as possible. Having toilets inside our church building will make a huge difference to that.”
