Building Community at Hillfields Park

Last week our new Association Manager Rob English attended a public meeting at Hillfields Park Baptist Church in Bristol. He came back full of excitement about what this small, strategically placed congregation is doing - and hoping to achieve - in this area that has suffered from drastic cuts in council services. So we asked their Development Officer, Sam Carrier, to tell us a little bit more:


Hillfields Park Baptist Church recently hosted a public meeting to talk about its important plans to build a new community centre on its site near Fishponds, Bristol and to consult with local residents.

A number of people spoke - sharing stories about the deprivation of the local community and the great need for a larger facility for all ages in an area where there are no community facilities at all.

 The church is already providing a lot of social services but has run out of space to meet demand. The church is a registered charity, and its patron is Richard Pendlebury, chief executive of the homeless charity Emmaus in Bristol and also a deputy Lord Lieutenant for the City.

Richard Pendlebury with Development Officer Sam Carrier

 He clearly feels very strongly about the poverty, petty crime, poor social cohesion and poor health in the Church's neighbourhood and encouraged the meeting to continue to step out in faith.

Hillfields Park Baptist Church's vision is to have the centre built and operational by 2015 - no mean feat for a small, low income congregation. But it has already raised over £80,000 and is clearly determined to achieve this project. For further information contact sam.carrier@virginmedia.com or 07976 967 290.