St Bartholomew's Church, Otford

St Bartholomew's Today
Today, St Bartholomew’s serves the community and the wider world through prayer, teaching, practical help and supporting Christian organisations. The Parish Church offers a variety of styles of worship to people of all ages, giving everyone the opportunity to form friendships, find inner peace and discover the key to a fulfilling life. It is especially keen to inspire young people with Christian values in a changing and uncertain world.

However, the church building has no room for the children’s groups, who are forced to meet in another part of the village. This means that the whole church family meets together only once a month. There is no water in the church and therefore no toilets or kitchen facilities. The choir, musicians and bell ringers share a cramped area and the vicar’s home doubles as a parish office.

For visitors to the church, too, the lack of facilities is a drawback. The building does not meet legal requirements for disabled access. Visitors find no toilet facilities and there is nowhere for people coming to special services even to have a cup of tea together. The building is in demand for concerts and plays, but the ‘chancel’, or stage area, is small and cluttered.


Church Building Fund St Bartholomew’s parishioners are raising money for a new Church Building Fund so that we can do something about these problems. Will you help us? The main purpose of the Fund is to build an extension to the north side of the church, for use by regular churchgoers and visitors. It will provide: a large meeting area which can be divided into three rooms for use by the children’s groups on a Sunday and in a variety of other ways: for example, as a quiet base from which to offer a counselling service to the local community kitchen facilities where light refreshments can be prepared toilets, including facilities for people with disabilities a new room which will double as a crèche and a place for the choir to change a church office which can deal with enquiries and administrative matters. The diagram shows how the extension will look. It has been designed by Jim Lidbetter, a very experienced local architect. He has drawn up the plans in consultation with English Heritage and the relevant church and local authorities. A great deal of attention has been paid to making sure that the design and materials are in keeping with the existing building and that the finished extension enhances its setting. Planning permission was granted by Sevenoaks District Council in August 2004. The Building Fund will also provide for two other projects: some minor improvements to the existing church building, and some needed repairs and changes to the Church Hall. The inside of the church building is in need of some improvement and it seems sensible to do this in parallel with the building of the extension. Improved access will be provided for people with disabilities by remodelling the interior of the South Porch and doorway. The chancel will be simplified and enlarged to allow more flexible use during church services and to give more platform space for concerts and plays. The inside of the church will be given a much-needed decorative face-lift. The Church Hall, too, needs to be updated to meet new legal requirements for access and toilets for people with disabilities. It also needs more storage space and improvements to the roof of the Side Room. These changes will allow the Hall to continue to be used and enjoyed by a wide variety of local organisations.


Who Will Benefit? The children and adults who worship at St Bartholomew’s will see many benefits from these changes. They are particularly looking forward to the time when the whole church family can meet together every week. It is right, therefore, that the members of the church should pay for most of the cost of the building work. People who come to their Parish Church for special services will also benefit from the improved facilities. The church conducts many baptisms, weddings and funerals each year for local people. There are also services at special times, such as Remembrance Sunday, which are attended by many people in the village. St Bartholomew’s has always been concerned to serve the local community and the new rooms will enhance the welcome extended to those groups using the church building for different events. And, of course, the improvements to the Church Hall will benefit the many local people who use this facility every week. St Bartholomew’s parishioners have decided that their fundraising efforts should also aim to raise money for building projects in needy communities. So donors are being given an opportunity to decide that part of their gift should be divided between two projects: a church-based community project in London, and the building of married quarters for a theological college in Tanzania.

The Way Forward
The cost of all the work that is needed is likely to be in the region of £800,000. It is hoped that the money can be raised from churchgoers, from charitable trusts, through fundraising events, and by donations from local people. If you would like to help St Bartholomew’s Church to build on its long-held commitment to welcoming and serving the community then please turn to the section headed ‘Can you help?’.