Co-op Warm Spaces Funding Boost has provided £520 of match funding
Warm spaces 7 days a week
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
Around 18 months ago we were open 1 day/ wk, now we are open 5 days offering a welcome and free hot drinks. We want to be open 7 days/week.
Who are we?
We are Holy Sepulchre, the National Musicians' church, offering a welcome space to all. We recently set up this new "harmony Zone' space with tables and chairs with an areas for community art displays. Alongside the various church services, we hold various free concerts, monthly dementia friendly concerts etc, have an area soft seat and information on wellbeing and mental health, want to continue to work with the local community to be a place where all feel welcome and find friendship and ways to live better.
Community impact
As a Parish Church, a City Church, the home of the Royal Fusiliers Chapel and as the National Musicians’ Church, we recognise we have an important role, supporting the community and the transition of workers back to the City and their wellbeing, supporting musicians, alongside our commitment to social action and much more.
Alongside being a space for worship and prayer, we our committed to being a place of:
- Hospitality and compassion: As well as offering hospitality and compassion to those who come into the church, we play a key role in supporting various Community Partners around the City through our work leading and coordinating the Square Mile Hygiene Bank and GenerosCity initiatives. This work providing hygiene and related products, supporting front line workers in local schools, agencies, and charities in their amazing work with some of the most vulnerable in our communities;
- Education: We offer regular support and discussion groups, such as the Bereavement Journey for those who have lost loved ones; the Wellbeing Journey to support all in their holistic journey to physical, mental, financial, and spiritual wellbeing; we collaborate to support music students etc., and recently ran an art exhibition and hosted a carer group at the church. We hope to launch more of these groups soon and want to play an increasing role in helping all to live better.
- Art, music and culture: We already play a role in the Culture Mile with regular concerts but want also to be a bold voice for equality, diversity and inclusivity and hold a monthly dementia friendly concert. We have also started a collaboration in mid 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine, where some of the rooms at the church will be used for students from the Ukraine Conservatoires to restart their studies since arriving here under the visa scheme and for the church to also be used for regular concerts to provide performance opportunities for these students.
- Tourists and visitors: The City’s and our visitor numbers are increasing, and we have various areas of information to inform visitors and are currently working with the Fusiliers to produce some video content for the screens in the church to assist visitor education about their history and role today. We see ourselves as having an important role with others to make this area of our city a place to visit.
These are just a few of the highlights of our community work and we want to do more along with others.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We are not a rich church and have been using our limited reserves to develop over these last 18 months and have gone from bing open 1 day per week to 5 days per week but want to be open 7 days per week. We are crowd funding to pay for the additional heating, light and people for the additional 2 days per week.
How we’ll spend the money raised
The money will be used for staffing Friday and Saturday opening and to cover the additional heating and lighting costs
This project successfully funded on 7th February 2023