Cash prize of £1,500
On 17 November 2005, four representatives from Holy Trinity Ripon attended an awards ceremony at The Vicar's Hall, Windsor Castle, where they learned that they had beaten off stiff competition from 76 other churches around the country to win the top accolade in a prestigious national competition, plus a cash prize of £1,500.
The 2005 ‘Building your Church for the Future' competition, staged by the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, was inspired by a document entitled ‘Building Faith in our Future', produced by the Council for the Care of Churches and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission, and sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance.
Strict entry guidelines made it clear that the judges were looking for examples of churches which were maintained by church volunteers for the benefit of the community. Holy Trinity's entry focused on the recent reordering and refurbishment of the church, opening up the old crypt to create The Arches and making the main body of the church warmer, more flexible and more welcoming.
The judges were particularly impressed with the number of community groups which have used the church and The Arches as a regular meeting place. Rev David Mann, who accompanied curate Rev Alison Montgomery and two other members of the volunteer staff to Windsor, said of the award:
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“I am delighted that all the hard work of the church and its congregation, whose vision for the building has now been realised, has been recognised nationally. But it also acknowledges the strong community spirit that we have in Ripon: without that spirit, there would be no community wanting to use our building. We see our role as being a continuing and reliable presence in Ripon: 180 years on, we are still a focal point as a place for worship, for marking life's milestones, for meeting together, and for finding vibrant life as well as contemplative peace.” |
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