Building Project
Early
Years
New Life Church has been a community of Christian Believers who have existed in Old Woking since 1929. What started as a pioneering Sunday School outreach in a canvas tent has grown over the years to become one of the established churches in the town of Woking.
The pioneering spirit that encouraged a handful of adults to lay the first foundations for a permanent building has continued down the years as people have given sacrificially in time, talents and money.
Today, New Life Church has a focus on practical and spiritual help to the faithful and to those with no faith. The church gives about 25% of its annual income to support practical and vibrant mission both overseas and in the local area.
New Life
Today
Today our local focus is on supporting families and individuals as they struggle to “make ends meet” and navigate the pressures and pitfalls of modern life. For over a decade we have been providing food and other essentials to local families in crisis due to sickness, unemployment or benefit cuts. By visiting the homes of these grateful clients, we are able to signpost them to other support agencies to assist with a variety of additional needs.
As a result of the Food bank, we also provide courses to support people to conquer addictions as well as provide basic life skills for those who would benefit from them – budgeting, cooking, healthy relationships, parenting skills – all with the desire to build confidence and self-esteem.
The church premises are well used during the week. We lease part of the building to Foundations Community Pre-School, store and distribute the weekly Food bank deliveries, as well as provide a home for the various courses, support groups and individual mentoring help. In addition, we hire the building out at reasonable rates to community groups including fitness classes, NHS support groups, diet classes and community choirs. Beside the regular hires, we can also accommodate occasional one-off bookings for children’s parties and other events.
Practical
Constraints
New Life Church is always looking to meet the needs of individuals and community groups where it can, particularly coming out of the Coronavirus Pandemic where there is an increased need to combat isolation and reestablish meaningful connections.
The major limiting factor to enabling us to provide more is that access to our first floor rooms (a hall, meeting rooms, kitchenette and toilets) is the lack of accessing those areas for any who have mobility issues. Access is limited to a staircase that cannot be adapted with a stairlift or any other aid.
Sadly, we have had to turn away community groups who have disabled members, and we have genuine anecdotal stories of some people resorting to an undignified crawling up the stairs on hands and knees or being carried.
Building
Project
For years we have lived with the limited access, but we believe the time has come to address this need. We have drawn up plans to instal a lift on the outside of the building to giver access to the pt floor. (An internal lift is not viable due to space restrictions and the prohibitive requirement to cut through a concrete slab which forms the floor of the pt floor).
The lift will be surrounded by a steel and glass curtain wall which will create a more pleasing entrance atrium with more light and a little more space for manovering wheelchairs and pushchairs. The rise of the stairs will be adjusted to provide space for the lift, and the two different floor levels on the first floor will be overcome with an additional small platform lift. The installation of new toilet facilities – including a dedicated disabled toilet – will complete the project.
Costs
The works have been planned, approved by the Council Planning Department, and a tender from a local building contractor accepted.
