Bishop's Stortford Baptist Church's new community hub up and running to 'bridge the gap' for people in need

A new community hub building run by Bishop's Stortford Baptist Church has got off to a busy start as it attempts to "bridge the gap" for people in need.

The Bridge is the result of years of fundraising by the congregation and donations which enabled a former dilapidated warehouse off Twyford Road, next to the church centre, to be transformed into a multi-functional facility.

Officially opened on January 21, already there has been a steady stream of users through its doors as people make use of its café and Exchange, where items such as clothes, household appliances and furniture can be swapped. There are also showers, laundry facilities, areas for people to chat or read and play games and a chapel for prayer.

Baptist church minister the Rev John Walford said the opening of the new building had realised their vision "for a place we could use for the community".

The official opening was attended by Stortford mayor Cllr Dave Anderson, former associate minister Garry Steel and Graham Ross, Eastern Baptist Association regional minister, along with a crowd of around 170 people, who enjoyed afternoon tea with activities laid on for youngsters.

Mr Walford said of the hub's purpose: "We want it to be a place where if you have a problem, we might be able to assist you with that.

"It's about having resources for people. It houses the Exchange, which is a place where people that have stuff they don't want can give it to people who do want it.

"We're still getting things up and running, but we have a café on a Thursday which we plan to open every day to support people coming in, but also it's a place where people can come if they're feeling a bit lonely, to meet others and sit and have a coffee.

"We have a hall as well for various community activities that is currently being used by Grove Cottage and for our Portuguese language service on a Sunday, as well as other rooms we can use for smaller meetings."

The minister said that the showers and laundry would be particularly useful for the boat-owning community on the nearby River Stort, as well as the homeless."

"Most people are stunned when they see what the building looks like now," he added. "It was basically just a warehouse before."

The Baptist Church moved into its new home on the Twyford Road site in 2012, when the new church centre was opened. "There was this other original building on the site that was to be knocked down and made into offices, but they couldn't get any takers so sold the building to us. We didn't really know what to do at first other than we knew it was the right thing to have it," said Mr Walford.

"Gradually we developed this vision for a community building and decided to refurbish it – it's been done very well. We had a lot of help from other chapels. When the one at Little Hallingbury closed we had a very generous grant from them, while the congregation has raised a lot of the money as well.

"The whole thing took about seven years and we called it The Bridge as it's about bridging the gap for people – if they have a need, we can help.

"There's a passage in the Old Testament which talks about standing in the gap, and that's what this is about – plus it's also next to the bridge over the river!

"People can come for friendship, for help, for support or worship. We have a team of volunteers who man it, drawn from the church and local community."