Church in Wales Plwyf / Parish of Llandeilo Fawr, Maesteilo and Taliaris

Bearing witness to Jesus Christ in Llandeilo, Ffairfach and surrounding rural communities

> Home > Activities > People > Weekly Bulletin > History > Links > Body Building > Llandeilo Gospels > Maesteilo > Taliaris e-mail the Vicar	Body Building / Meini Byw A vision for the church Growing a Vision In the late 1990’s, it was clear that the PCC would have to begin work on a programme of repairs to St Teilo’s identified in quinquennial reports by diocesan inspectors. But there was also a growing awareness that our Grade II listed Victorian building was not well adapted to the life of a 21st Century Church. The leaders of our Sunday School were asking to move from an unsuitable off-site location to meet in the Church at the same time as the main Sunday morning service. As we considered this problem, a vision took root of a Church that would not only allow these simultaneous activities without mutual disturbance, but would house a range of Church activities throughout the week, and also be open for use by the local community. Indeed, there was a strong conviction that, with the right kind of re-ordering, the Church could take its place at the centre of the community, make itself available to, and serve the community in various ways. The roots of this vision lie in the New Testament idea that the church is not a place, but a community. It is, says St Paul, a body – Christ’s Body on earth – and its organs and limbs are the people who constitute it. How could our building express that idea, enabling us to become, as a body, more like the Christ who came not to be served, but to serve? As our project developed, it came to be called ‘Body Building’. “Our Victorian building was not well adapted to the life of a 21st Century Church” In 2001 we began a series of church meetings, sometimes with facilitators from other churches that had created a new building or adapted an old one, and the vision took shape. There were visits to churches that had undertaken various kinds of internal re-ordering. From a very early stage there was agreement that the old North aisle, that had been screened off to make a hall about 27 years before, would be the main site of development, and that a mezzanine floor would be the best means to maximize usable space. There would also be a church office with somebody there during ‘opening hours’ to welcome people, to show them round or to listen, and provide security; a well-equipped kitchen, lift, and new toilet facilities with access for disabled people. With the involvement of Paul Regan, these ideas began to take specific shape. A Community at Work The church decided, on ethical grounds, at a very early stage not to seek Lottery Funding for this project. Our hopes that grant funding to meet a substantial part of the cost would be available from other sources were to be disappointed. For example, a group spent a great deal of time and effort on an application for a grant under the land-fill “How could our building enable us to become, as a body, more like the Christ who came not to be served, but to serve?” tax scheme, and got to the national finals only to fall at the last hurdle. In the end, despite much effort, only a relatively small amount of grant funding was obtained – a total of £18,700 in small grants, the largest of which was £5,000. Denied the luxury of handing a fully grant-aided project to a contractor, we had no alternative but to move on in faith, proceeding step by step as funding became available. This called for huge effort to be put into fundraising targeted on specific needs (kitchen, toilets, lift, for instance) through donations, gift days, events and small grants. It also determined the way we set about the building work. Michael Wheatley undertook to manage the project and to use as much voluntary labour as possible, and willing hands were found amongst the church community. As the work proceeded, gifts in kind of materials, skilled labour and expertise were forthcoming: without them, the project could never have been achieved. Much of the building work has been done by Michael himself, assisted by Cecil Taylor. The work was managed in such a way that the Church could be constantly in use as a place of worship, as the old partition between nave and hall was left in place until the last possible moment. Project Partners Architect: Paul Regan BSc B Arch RIBA The Regan Norris Partnership Project Manager, Builder: Michael Wheatley Contractors, Suppliers: David Siggery (Conservation Builder) Shufflebottom Ltd (Steel Frame Buildings) LBS (Building Supplies) Snowdrop Lifts Fire-Ex (Fire Safety Systems) Concept Flooring Andrew Rees (Plastering) Andrew Davies, (Plumbing) Rowland Kitchens Enhancing an old building Paul Regan’s design makes no attempt to mimic the Victorian Gothic of the original building, which is actually enhanced by the use of contemporary materials and elegant geometric forms. The colonnade that has been created between the nave and the meeting rooms on the lower floor adds an interesting dimension to the nave, while the open arches between hall and nave afford elevated views of the worship space, and add a sense of space and light to the nave itself. The arches have been left open for theological reasons, establishing a continuum between worship and the activities that take place in the hall. The new facilities have transformed the life of the Church. The sound-proof meeting rooms enable multiple uses of the building on Sundays and other times as well. A variety of spaces is now available for different groups within the Church to use. The new kitchen enables the efficient serving of refreshments and full-scale meals: for example, Church harvest suppers, wedding receptions, and Christmas Day dinners for people who would otherwise be alone. Serving the Community The hall and meeting rooms have been used by the County Council, local businesses, clubs, societies and charities. An Education in the Community dance class used the hall on Thursday mornings last year. The church has long been the concert venue for the town, and the Llandeilo Festival of Music, now in its seventh year, finds the re-ordered building ideal for its busy July week of large scale concerts and intimate recitals by international artistes. The re-ordered interior of St Teilo’s was officially opened by the Bishop of St David’s on St Teilo’s Day, 9th February 2008. Prestigious Award St Teilo’s: Building Project of the Year The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has made a prestigious award to St Teilo’s Church. At the RICS Wales Award Ceremony in the Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay on Friday 16th May 2008, the re-ordered interior of the church was named Building Project of the Year. Paul and Catherine Regan, and Peter and Anna Bement represented St Teilo’s at the event. The awards scheme has been running internationally for 18 years, and this is the fourth year that the Awards have been devolved to Wales. Winners in the four categories (Building Conservation, Regeneration, Sustainability, Community Benefit) go forward to the Grand Final to be held in London in October. In addition, each year one project is chosen by the judges to receive their special ‘distinguished and esteemed’ award. The 26 entries, described as being of ‘exceptional quality’, are said to ‘demonstrate the outstanding work in the built environment being carried on in Wales today’. The main sponsor for the event is The Welsh Assembly Government. St Teilo’s was entered in the Building Conservation category with a number of other impressive projects, including the St David’s Cathedral cloisters. The award in this category went to the beautiful and sensitive restoration of Nant Clwyd House in Ruthin. Having resigned ourselves to being runners-up, we were astonished to be named as recipients of the RICS special award. Michael Wheatley, Paul Regan and Simon Thane have played leading roles in bringing the project to completion, but as the judges’ comment indicates, this has really been the work of a large number of people and could not have been achieved without the shared vision and commitment of the whole church. In making the award, the judges commented: ‘St Teilo’s demonstrates how a vision can be brought to fruition through the support, commitment and endeavour of the local community. The project delivers exceptional value for money and provides a facility which allows the local community and visitors to engage positively with the building. All in all it is an exceptional project which is the epitome of what the Welsh Project of the Year represents.’ some images of the building work
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