Out of the Ashes…St Comgall’s is officially opened
After an electrical fire in the early hours of 7 June 2012 destroyed a large section of roof and the pews and floor below, St Comgall’s, Bangor has risen from the ashes as an inspiring worship and community space.
On Saturday 22 March the rector, Revd Nigel Parker, welcomed Bishop Harold and Mrs Liz Miller, invited guests, parishioners and well–wishers, as they celebrated the official re–opening of the building .
The vision of the Select Vestry was to ‘enhance the historic beauty of St Comgall’s by providing a warm, bright, flexible seven–day–a–week centre of Christian excellence at the heart of Bangor – a hub for worship, prayer, teaching, hospitality, fellowship and mission.’
They have succeeded, as delight in the beautiful building was palpable amongst the several hundred people who came along to see the results of 21 months of work:
“It’s really amazing,” said parishioner Heather McQueen. “They’ve been so sympathetic to the original architecture but they’ve just brightened it all up.”
Amy, 15, said, “I think it’s amazing. It’s beautiful, I love it so much.”
The church now has 2 levels – the top one has sound–proofed rooms for Children’s Ministry and Youth Ministry.
Downstairs there is a very large welcome area complete with a modern Coffee Bar. Coffee, tea and cakes were in steady supply in the welcome area and break–out rooms thanks to the ladies from the church’s ‘Refresh’ hospitality team (right).
In the nave, the pews have been replaced by chairs to give a completely flexible space which has already been used to maximum effect with the staging of the Saint Patrick’s Experience event last week.
The church has a new audio/visual system and the pipe organ was removed for cleaning and restoration before being fully reinstated.
The cost of renovation was £2 million, some of which was covered by insurance but £350,000 of which was raised by parish members.
Thankfully, the police and fire service intervened quickly the night of the fire, saving St Comgall’s from complete destruction. The firefighting team were back for the opening and stood beneath the spot where Firefighter, Mark Vance, (below left) had to quickly remove a section of the roof to stop the flames spreading.
It is to the credit of all those who gave so generously and worked so hard that the church has reopened so quickly.
Bishop Harold praised the Select Vestry for their positive response to the crisis, seeing it as a very real opportunity for God to do something new. He said that it was, “a wonderful attitude and out of that attitude has been born this beautiful, new renovated building today.”
The Bishop dedicated the new lectern, holy table, font and baptismal pool (hidden out of sight under the floor) which will be used for a baptism next Sunday. As he did so, he emphasised the centrality of the Word of God, the importance of baptism and holy communion as demonstrated by the early church in Acts 2. His overarching theme was, he said, ‘Let the church be the church in this generation’.
See a photo gallery here.
Project Management, Design and Building
Presentations were made to the building and design team. Ian Maconachie responded on their behalf, praising the renovation team and thanking members of the parish for their friendship and the chance to be part of the vision.
Credits
Project Manager, QS and CDM Coordinator: Ian Maconachie
Architects: Whittaker & Watt Chartered Architects
William Watt
Hana Stolcova
Structural Engineers: RPS
Barry McAllister
Jim McKeown
M&E Engineers
Beattie Flanigan
Jason Fisher
Mark Mayes
Alistair Sherlock
Main Contractor: Felix O’Hare
Gerry Gray
Kevin Forsythe