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YOU CAN HELP BRING ST EDWARD’S INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
Play your part in making our ancient church a place fit for the future Stow community!
St Edward’s is a special building
- A site of worship for over 1000 years, holding a central place in the town's history and the story of the English Civil War 1642-1646
- The largest indoor space in Stow
- The No 1 tourist attraction in Stow
Why we need to update St Edward’s
St Edward’s has honoured the traditions that have sustained people in their Christian faith for centuries and will continue to do so. But the time has now come to focus more on the needs of future generations.
Our building needs to work better
- To accommodate all styles of worship and to enable the congregation and community to enjoy the film and video that have become part of our lives online.
- To provide a space that meets the various needs of local community partners and groups.
- To offer an even better and more informative experience for visitors as numbers start to recover.
The Challenge
- To deliver a flexible, connected, but still beautiful space for the post-Covid world
- To ensure that Stow’s largest indoor facility gives real benefit to the community
- To offer a welcoming and enjoyable experience for visitors to the Cotswolds from around the world
- To pass on this precious gift from our rich past, revitalized and renewed for the future
The updated St Edward’s will:
- Retain the feel of our historic church
- Offer space better suited to worship and post-Covid connectivity
- Enhance the building’s ability to serve the people of Stow
- Be a welcoming space that draws people in and connects them with local faith and history
- Offer accessible and flexible space for community events
- Have improved facilities for children and young people
- Have improved heating, lighting and storage
The First Step
To improve connectivity, the most urgent needs are to:
- Install an audio-visual system, including a projector screen hidden to the rear of the rood beam.
- Enhance broadband connectivity.
Subsequently, we will consult with the Diocesan Advisory Committee on the following options:
Medium Term
- Transforming the rear of St Edwards into a flexible space that can be used for visitor information display boards, group meetings, school and children’s activities, after-church refreshment or just left open for people to enjoy the building from more perspectives.
- Making the church warmer, more welcoming and more accessible by insulating the South entrance porch with automatic glass doors.
Longer Term Possibilities
- Creating a raised dais for concerts by returning the pulpit to its original location and sympathetically re-modelling the West end of the choir stalls.
- Finding a long-term solution to our musical needs as our ageing church organ becomes increasingly unreliable.