A community hub run by a Norwich church has opened its doors to the public to showcase its work.
Norwich Central Baptist Church took over the Mousehold Hub on Mousehold Avenue last year and have leased the top floor to Norwich Youth for Christ.
Today's open day - from 1-4pm - was a chance for people to look around, find out about the many activities on offer and to dedicate the building for God's work.
The vision for the building is for it to become a vibrant community hub and it is already used for a variety of groups, including a growing Portuguese-speaking church that meets there every Saturday.
The Norwich Community Gospel Choir rehearse there every week and a popular Messy Church is well attended by the local community.
The building was formerly occupied by Silver Road Baptist Church. In 2017 members of the church took the difficult decision to close their church, as the upkeep and ongoing responsibility was proving too much for the ageing congregation.
Pastor of Norwich Central Baptist Church the Rev Mark Fairweather-Tall said: "There is much to be celebrated from the life of Silver Road Baptist Church, who did excellent work in impacting the community. We are seeking to build on this and we are excited at the possibilities there are to use the building to enrich community life in the area. As we do this we want to give people the opportunity to encounter faith because we believe that the best of life comes when we come to know the love of Jesus."
Nick Blanch, director
of Norwich Youth for Christ, said: "The open
day is really about celebrating the past and looking ahead to the future. This building was not made redundant but has been given a new life. Mousehold Hub has opened up amazing opportunities for us. We have more than just an office here, we have space to do youth work, hold band rehearsals and host things like youth-worker breakfasts."
Norwich Youth for Christ's alternative education programme, Boost, was an important factor in moving to the Mousehold Hub and the charity now has five students who were at risk of exclusion who come to the Hub once a week for lessons.
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