St Lawrence's Community Project
Social Inclusion
Help us make St Lawrence's Ancient Church more accessible for use by the community and provide a friendly, affordable social venue.
About this cause
We currently run afternoon teas in the 1000-year-old Church of St. Lawrence, one of the oldest buildings in Caterham. Run by volunteers every Sunday, May - September, they provide an affordable, friendly meeting place for the community and local musicians regularly play without payment. Many visitors are isolated at home and this may be their only social contact. All are welcome and there is no religious objective. We would like to use this beautiful space as a community arts venue all year round but we need to improve the food preparation area and storage. The building is too cold to use in winter and the current earth closet is impractical - visitors have to cross a busy main road to use the toilet in St Mary's. A new toilet and boiler would make this space useable all year round.
How this cause brings people in the community together
It will provide a welcoming, cosy environment where members of the community can meet all year round. We have previously held art installations and music performances in the summer and these have been well-attended. There is nowhere similar in the area and it would be a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to come together.