In mid September, our administrator Clare Bell is moving on to pastures new. She’s been in the role for 12 months, been a real blessing to us, and we’ll miss her presence enormously.
But her departure creates an opportunity for someone, and it could be you!
If you’d like to know more, download an application form here.
We’re delighted to announce that Clare Bell has joined us to work as our new Benefice Administrator.
Based in the church office in Upton Parish Church, Clare will be the beating heart behind all our administrative work across our churches (except Welland) and will be responsible for making the clergy look slick and organised. Best of luck Clare!
Clare has some great relevant experience, some family who are clergy, and a mum who runs a church office in Dorset, to fall back on for advice!
If you need to contact her, you can reach her on the parish office number (01684 591241,admin@hopechurchfamily.org) from 27 August.
Her normal office hours (until Christmas) will be: Monday 1-3pm, Tuesday, Thu, Fri, 9am-1pm.
On 8 July our administrator Helen Inman departed, and while we’re recruiting her successor the office won’t be operating as normal.
We hope to have a new administrator in post by mid-August, and to have the office open for normal hours very soon after.
Barry Unwin
Decorating isn’t something I normally get excited about, but I’m going to make an exception for last week’s decorating work in the Church Office in Upton Parish Church.
Ever since Upton Parish Church opened in 1879, people have been wondering whether the dull pink plaster that makes the interior so gloomy was really what the architect intended. Other churches by the same architect were painted, often in white, but not Upton Parish Church.
Last year to accommodate our Benefice Administrator Helen, we began transforming the office space established back in 2013. First we replaced the drab carpet, bought some new furniture, and added secondary glazing to the windows. Then we installed an electric radiator, and to help us get the most out of the heating, we fitted a suspended ceiling with new LED lighting.
However, the walls continued to make the room drab. So earlier this year we asked the Diocesan Advisory Committee if we could paint them, and with permission given and a special paint bought, a decorator arrived last week to transform the office. And we think the results are quite remarkable!
Big thanks then to Church Wardens Tim Toman and Roger Davies for helping write the faculty application , as well as handling the arrangements for the decorating process!
If you’d like to see the new, brighter, church office, do call in and see Helen during office hours (9:30am-1pm, Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri).
Next, the PCC wants to begin to transform the side (or “Lady”) chapel. Once again they’ll paint the walls a shade of white, as well as replacing the carpet, lighting, heating and furniture, with the ultimate aim of creating a small contemporary, comfortable and user-friendly worship and meeting space that can accommodate choir rehearsals, prayer meetings, small services and could even be hired out to external groups.
Barry Unwin
3 March 2019
