New community hub at Heckington

New Community Hub at Heckington Methodist Church

Heckington got an early Christmas present on 11th December with the dedication of the transformed Community Hub at the Methodist Church in Church Street. This is the final stage of a long-term project that has transformed the Edwardian building into a modern facility for the community, with new kitchen and toilets competed in 2015 being joined by the refurbished hall, and a new connection to the lovely garden beyond.

The dedication ceremony was performed by Heckington's Methodist Minister Rev Gabriele Britton-Voss, who said "It is a joy to welcome people from the village and the wider community to the dedication of our Community Hub. Today marks the end of a long project to make our facilities fit for the 21st century and a real asset to the community. The Hub is part of the Methodist Church in Heckington. It has been delivered thanks to the generosity and commitment of its members as part of our calling to share God's love with the people and communities around us."

Chapel Property Steward said "The recent work has transformed the building, offering all our users a modern and more useable hall. At the same time, we've created proper link to our garden – something of a hidden gem. The access to secure outdoor space with proper facilities has created a unique amenity for the village. And as an added bonus, extra toilets mean the hub and chapel can have two separate users at the same time, doubling our capacity. It's taken years of hard work to bring about, but it will make a real difference to the community. Even better, 75% of the cost has been given from local and national church sources, and as a church we're delighted to be serving the community in this way."

The environment has not been forgotten, with measures including insulation of the roof, secondary and double glazing to the windows and LED lighting.

The hub is already used by a wide range of church and community groups including the village's scout and guide groups, the Internet Hub, Mothers and Toddlers, and monthly soup and sweet lunches and is available for hire for community groups and private use.

The church see this as part of their service and witness, but also as an opportunity for evangelism offering contact with around 500 people a month. Completing the work has given the church a real lift. The state of the buildings had been issue for over a decade and now we have something we are really proud of. The church is looking forward to focussing its energies on outreach and mission and shifting focus to reaching out to people.