20th August 2019 
 

Update from Liz Harden (Assistant Pastor) about Vineyard House - office news latest, community links, next steps and our excitement for the time ahead. 

Office Update 

It is official – the church office has relocated from North Lane and is now established in Vineyard House. The staff have enjoyed settling into their new home and start each week by worshipping together. 

It has been a relatively smooth transition with the new office home proving to be a blessing in many ways. 

The staff are enjoying the company of Leeds Christian Community Trust (LCCT) and Unity Poverty Action (UPA) and the many opportunities we get to cross paths with neighbours and the community of Headingley passing up and down Bennett Road. Increasingly, people introduce themselves and ask questions – many wanting to visit the building and look at the plans. 

Interestingly, it is becoming apparent that many are relieved to see that we have no plans to turn the building into flats and wish to preserve the many beautiful features of the original building. The general attitude has been very positive and encouraging. 

Now that the office has moved, with only large furniture still to be shifted, our attentions are turning towards making changes to the studio to make it fit for use as a large meeting space. The electrics need to be completed and it needs painting to make the room useable. We are still in the process of clearing things left behind by the previous owners. We'd love some help with clearing stuff out so please contact the office and see how you might assist.
 

Community connections and enquiries 

With the new boards being erected outside Vineyard House, we have seen an increase in interest and excitement about our project. As I meet with community individuals and representatives, it is clear many would like to partner and work with us in serving the people of Headingley. 

We have had requests to host school reunions from people who remember doing their PE lessons in the main hall upstairs. A number have approached us with ideas for community days and exhibitions. Others enquire about running fitness, dance and theatre classes for all age groups. 

We have also been approached by several contacts to see if we will enable additional language courses to be run from Vineyard House. There seems to be a high demand for this. 

We are also excited that groups supporting: the elderly; vulnerable adults; children; youth; students; as well as people with additional, complex and mental health needs - have all expressed a desire to use the building. This is all exciting and we will need to be hearing the voice of Jesus amongst the requests and discern how we best use Vineyard House to minister to a community while introducing them to Jesus. 

We already have great community support and involvement in Vineyard House and we look forward to seeing how this all unfolds in the years to come and beyond.

Architect’s Support

It is fair to say we have all been impressed by Stephen Dixon’s (Calls Architecture) commitment to understanding our vision and dreams for Vineyard House. 

We recently discovered Stephen is also a children’s book author. Having written The Gingerbread Man 2, Stephen very kindly donated a personalised copy to the Child Contact Centre. Elaine and the children were hugely grateful for this fun and entertaining story. Thank you Stephen.



Vineyard House Building Project

The time when Vineyard House was last used by the community is well remembered and revered and an element of the project will be to recall this and tell this story whilst at the same time looking to the future and to building new relationships. As we have drilled down into more detailed costings for the renovation of Vineyard House it has become clear that the final will be several times what we originally thought. Just before the summer break we were very encouraged to be introduced to a third party company from whom the project team and trustees can draw significant wisdom and expertise. We will be updating you on plans for the phasing and timings of key project milestones as they are approved by the trustees.

Vineyard House 

It is very exciting to see that the vision we have been given for Vineyard House sits so well within the residents' heart for the community. We have been greatly encouraged by how enthused the community are on our behalf. It feels as though we are stewards of a heritage which local people long to see brought back to life. To use the building again and to see it used to serve people and build strong community again. This is particularly heartening as we long to see Jesus central to this story of strengthening community in Headingley. 

We are looking forward to seeing how this develops and that relationships will be strengthened as we fulfil the call upon us ‘to restore the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated.’
 

Liz Harden