After 40 years of planning, discussion, and preparation St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Bishops Hull now has a warm and welcoming space that parishioners, villagers and visitors alike can enjoy. Historically the church didn’t have running water and had to rely on the nearby church hall for the toilet and tea making facilities, but when plans to renew planning permission for the hall were rejected, new plans to extend the church to create space where people could meet and gather began to take shape.
It was another 12 years before those proposals came to fruition. Now the church building has modern facilities, which means the church community can offer the kind of friendly and hospitable welcome it long wished to do.
Revd Phil Hughes Vicar Bishops Hull Benefice said, “Previously we’ve not been able to offer hospitality easily to people without having to go out of the church, up and down some steps and across to the church hall, but we often found that by the time you moved out of the building, guests in particular just didn’t want to go into a different building, so we weren’t able to offer the kind of hospitality we would’ve liked.”
When plans were drawn up for the extension to St Peter and St Paul’s one of the ideas put forward which received universal approval was a glass door that allowed people passing the church to see into the building and see what was taking place inside.Revd Phil said, "This ‘soon to happen’ addition will enable everyone to see clearly that the church is open to everyone.
“The extension has already created a lot of positive conversation in the village. Now as walk you past the front of the church you can see there is a lovely open space that is non-threatening. And when we have a service, we let everyone in the village know that they are welcome to come to the service, or they to drop in afterwards for tea and coffee.”
After months of being fenced off and building work, the church was official opened last month. Church Warden Will Osmond was on hand to carryout the ribbon cutting duty as Church Warden Belinda Luke welcomed all those present into the new extension. The new entrance area will be known as The Bridge.
