Proposal: New Window for St Mary’s

We want to install a contemporary stained glass window and two figures sculpted in bronze, designed by Helen Whittaker of Barley Studios, York.

St Mary’s Church was building in 1830. Following bomb damage during the second war the building was re-configured to include a community centre together with the worship area. Opening in 1957 this began half a century of distinguished engagement with the community of Sharrow. Responding to major changes in the neighbourhood, it began with an emphasis on social cohesion. During the 80s many projects addressed problems of long term structural unemployment. During the 90s a major refurbishment was carried out culminating in the opening in 2001 of a new St Mary’s with conference and catering facilities, interesting spaces for meetings and activities for all ages. The worship area is used for conferences, receptions, parties and events. The space is ideal for exhibitions, currently showing fabric designs, paintings and photographs. It is also in demand for a variety of performance arts from choral and orchestral concerts, to an annual accordion festival.

The worship space is now completely flexible and lends itself to fresh expressions of worship in a setting which is spacious, light, airy and uncluttered. It is admired by all who come to it, of all faiths and none. We are celebrating 50 years of the Centre this year, part of this arts initiative is to find a way of expressing the spirit of innovation and change of those years in a dynamic window design.

We want the window and sculptures to achieve a number of clear objectives:

1. to celebrate 50 years of St Mary’s Community Centre and Conference Centre and its role in promoting social cohesion in a diverse neighbourhood.
2. to mark the completion of the project to renew the building ‘St Mary’s 2000’ involving the church and local community throughout the 90s.
3. to express the vitality of life at St Mary’s in all its aspects through a substantial visual work of art.
4. to speak to all who come to the building, affirming and raising questions about the journey through life we all share, and encourage the search deeper meaning and purpose.
5. to reflect the rapid changes in our neighbourhood of Sharrow where many powerful forces – social, political and economic converge to shape our environment.
6. to reflect the spirit of innovation and growth in the life of the city itself.
7. to inspire the worshipping community with a window which tells a story of pilgrimage with a group who have undertaken a considerable journey in the last ten years.

The essence of St Mary’s and the community in which it is set, is innovation and change. Much of our work is transformational. We aim to give our young people a sense of self worth and the confidence to take responsibility for their lives in positive citizenship. Our work with the Muslim community is empowering, helping them to take control of projects such as an Asian women’s food factory, producing high quality food.

The window is important to us because the design embodies the life of this enterprise over the last 50 years.

Design by Helen Whittaker of Barley Studios can be seen on the 'Window' page.

2. Making it happen

We invited three stained glass artists to submit designs for the window which were displayed in the chapel at St Mary’s over a period two months, while interested parties had the opportunity to comment. The winning design was a clear favourite, although no formal voting took place at this stage. Having selected the design by Helen Whittaker, the window design and figures were brought up to design stage and displayed for a further month as part of a planning application submitted to the Diocesan Advisory Committee. The committee was enthusiastic about the concept and gave a recommendation to the Chancellor of the diocese who granted permission (a faculty) for the work to go ahead. Timing now depends on the scheduling of the artist but we expect work on window and figures to begin in Autumn 2007, the window to be in place by May 2008 and the figures by November 2008. Construction of the window will take place at Barley Studios in York and brought in sections to be installed over the period of a week.

3. The Budget

The cost of the window including design, construction, installation and scaffolding will be £55,000. The two sculptured figures will cost £25,000 the pair including construction and installation. This gives a total budget of £80.000 for the overall scheme. The works are zero rated for VAT.

Our fundraising began with a reception and presentation of the work to various potential supporters, both corporate and individual. An appeal is being made directly to the congregation, staff and users of the conference and community facility. In addition, we are approaching a number of Sheffield and national charities for support, as detailed below. To date we have raised £22,500.