St Mary of Bethany Church recently completed a £300,000 building renovation to make it a more multi-purpose and accessible space for the whole community.

It unveiled the changes at its Community Day, which welcomed more than 300 people to Mount Hermon Road on 6 July.

The Community Day offered a barbecue, face painting, information stalls from local groups and prayer space, a mini exhibition on the church’s history and eco impact projects. Everything was free of charge to demonstrate God’s generosity to the community.

The refurbishment has created a more accessible entrance, flexible lounge/cafe space with a new kitchen, a renovated top hall with new storage facilities, new toilets (including one which is fully accessible) and new doors and windows on the York Road side of the church building.

The improvements, made possible by a Your Fund Surrey grant supported by Will Forster MP and local councillors, as well as generous legacies from church members, have reduced the building’s carbon footprint through retrofitting roof insulation.

The Church also plans to install solar panels on the roof later this year as part of the Church of England’s plan to become Net Zero Carbon by 2030.

St Mary of Bethany also offers a baby and toddler group, children’s and youth clubs, opportunities to explore faith, an English conversation group and a senior adult's group. It also hosts Brownies, Guides, a monthly Woking Foodbank collection and other local groups.

The Rev Mark Wallace, vicar of St Mary of Bethany, said: “We’re grateful to all who made the day possible and all who attended, and look forward to putting these spaces to good use and blessing our local community.

“If you have any ideas about how we can use these spaces well or if you’d like to use them for a local group you run, please get in touch with us.”