On point: New doors at St Stephen’s Church showcase Redditch history

STUNNING new doors have been unveiled at St Stephen’s in Redditch town centre to welcome visitors and parishioners.
Depicting a kingfisher and the needles on which the town’s prosperity was built, the glass doors, two years in the planning, are just part of a master plan to transform the landmark building and open it up more to the local community.
Etched in the doors, on the west side of the church, are also the words Faith, Hope, Love and Compassion and the light that floods through them as the sun starts to set helps shine a light into the interior.
“This is just a tiny, but important, part of a long term project to re-model the church,” said the Reverend Paul Lawlor, who is also the town centre chaplain.
“It’s just a step in what we can do with this building, making it much more accessible and adaptable to the people of Redditch.”
The doors have a strong county connection too – designed in Malvern and erected with help of stonemasons from Warwickshire with fittings supplied by blacksmith Peter Cronshaw of Tenbury Wells.
The Rev Lawlor added that the ultimate aim was to re-model the church into three main ‘chunks’ with a community space, a community and worship area, and a permanent working space.
“However the first thing we need to do is some really mundane stuff like fixing the gutters and the roofs,” said Rev Lawlor.
Another priority is the heating system and it is hoped the bulk of the money will be available through grants to get the work completed.