Mission Statement

"Creating opportunities for people to make connections with one another, with themselves and with God"

"When I came to St Paul’s in January 1993, my predecessor and the congregation had devised an ambitious plan to sell the institute in Coronation Street and incorporate the facilities into the church building on Hills Road.  They had reached plan ‘F’.  By the time of building in 1995, we had reached plan ‘J’!  I particularly remember the commissioning of the refurbished building in September 1996 because the Bishop of Ely challenged all those present with some words from Saint Paul. “You may have a brand new building, you may have a great vision, you may even have great commitment and you most certainly have worked very hard fund raising,” he said, “but if you do not have love, it doesn’t amount to a row of beans”! So whatever takes place in the Centre, it is appropriate that we apply the litmus paper of love in order to determine the activity’s worth.

Once the Centre opened we were fortunate to have Shirley Golding as manager She incarnated the challenge by welcoming absolutely everyone - unconditionally - and by establishing the tradition that has been perpetuated by her successors of accepting all, whatever their background, ability, language or belief.

We struggled initially with our mission statement until one of our staff , Sarah Roseblade, articulated it for us.  As the statement says, our aim is to be a place which enables people to make connections within themselves, with other people and with God.  And the proof of the pudding is always in the eating.  Only  those who come through the doors week by week can say whether we are fulfilling our mission statement or not.  They include members of Bodywork Dance Studios, foreign language students, members of U3A, local residents groups, yoga, dance, art, and drama classes, as well as parents and toddlers, people attending community lunches and many more.  We hope that a rich variety of users will not only enjoy the premises, but also their ‘brush’ with other users, as well as the community ethos of mutual respect, value and care that we seek to foster."

Michael Beckett

September 2006