Keeping Emmanuel Warm: An Exciting Opportunity for Our Building

Recently, with my mother-in-law visiting, I finally had to admit that summer was over and put the heating on at home! As the colder weather arrives, you will also have noticed that the heating has been switched on at Emmanuel. It is a timely reminder that keeping our church warm is about to become a much bigger conversation.

Our boiler has served Emmanuel for many years; the boiler itself dates from 1997. That makes it 30 years old, and by the time we could realistically complete a replacement project, it would be around 35-40 years old. 

There is another important consideration. As the Church of England works towards net zero carbon, we cannot simply assume that we will be able to replace our existing gas boiler with another one just like it. We need to explore alternative ways of heating our building, taking proper advice and working with the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) to understand what is possible. And all of this takes time! Those involved with the changes to the dais, know the very slow speed these things move at. We cannot wait until it breaks down to start thinking about what comes next.

This is both a significant challenge and an exciting opportunity.

Our current heating system produces powerful blasts of heat, which help us warm a large church with a high ceiling. Moving towards lower-carbon heating will fundamentally change how we heat Emmanuel. We may need to think differently about how warmth is distributed, which parts of the building we heat at different times, and how we use the space throughout the week.

That might sound daunting, particularly when we have only just finished the work on our new dais! But this is precisely why we need to start planning now. Replacing a heating system in a historic Church of England building is a substantial project involving professional advice, consultation, permissions and fundraising. Even reaching the point of being ready to begin the work could take 24 months, with the whole process potentially taking five to ten years.

If our heating broke down next week and parts were not available, we would face several winters heating while a replacement was planned and approved. That would be a serious challenge for our worship, our ministries and our mission. We need to plan now so that we are not forced into making rushed decisions in an emergency.

The PCC has therefore agreed that we should begin exploring the options through a Building Vision and Development Subcommittee. This will look not just at heating, but also at how heating and lighting can be designed together, alongside questions of seating, accessibility and how we can make the building more flexible for worship, discipleship and community use.

This is about more than how we use the building today. We need to think about the people who will worship here and encounter Jesus here over the next 25 to 50 years. Changing the heating will have the single biggest impact on our building since it was constructed 150 years ago. 

We are not committing ourselves to a particular design or solution at this stage. Instead, we want to listen, learn and make wise decisions about the building God has entrusted to us.

And that is where you come in! We would love to hear from anyone who might be interested in being part of this exciting project, particularly if you have experience in heating, engineering, lighting, architecture, building conservation, eco-church, construction, accessibility or project management. We would also love to hear from people who have thoughts about how we use our building and how we could make it more welcoming and accessible.

There will be challenges, and we will need to be realistic about the costs, the disruption and the decisions ahead. But we have an opportunity to think creatively about how Emmanuel can serve our growing congregation and the wider city for decades to come.

Our building is not simply somewhere we gather on Sundays. It is a place for worship, discipleship, children and young people, community activities and countless encounters with Jesus. Let’s begin asking what kind of legacy we want to leave for those who will come after us.

If you would like to contribute your experience, ideas or enthusiasm, please do get in touch. This is the beginning of a conversation, and we would love you to be part of it.