The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has given £5,000 as well as prayer and help in kind to Hanworth parish. Just four miles away and containing nearly 6,000 people, the parish is ranked by the Church Urban Fund as in the 15% most deprived communities in England, with high rates of child poverty (30%), lone parenthood (29%), and pensioner poverty (16%), problems accessing housing, and 27% of adults having no qualifications.

St Richard's Church centre, built in 1965, is a local landmark, a multi-use building at the community’s heart. There are no other public meeting spaces or places of worship. St Richard's has a vision to work with its community to overcome the causes and consequences of deprivation, and to be a resource for greater community cohesion. One example of this came in 2015 when the local community primary school became St Richard's CE Primary School.

“Project Grow” is about building on what's already happening in Hanworth, celebrating the 50 years of the church's life, but looking to a better future for all parish residents. The aim is to raise £1.5 million to improve and enlarge the church complex.

To find out more about how our parish is supporting Hanworth, look at the website: http://project-grow.org.uk. Visit the parish, pray, and reach out!

Robin Field-Smith