Blog

National Churches Trust awards a £1, 172 Foundation Grant, for essential rainwater drains repairs 

We are delighted to announce that we recently received a grant of £4450 to ensure that we can be safe and water tight as a building. This recent news has filled us with hope for the future and we're so excited to welcome you all properly back into our doors. The National Churches Trust is an incredible organisation and we hope you consider supporting them and buildings like ours.

Last year the generous Thomas Parry created some Christmas cards for us to sell and raise funds so that we can keep the building open. As has been the case for many of our friends, neighbours and colleagues in the Jewellery Quarter, not being able to welcome as many people into our doors has caused us to suffer a great deal of loss. The Christmas period is drawing near and many of us are looking for ways to connect with those that we love and wish to have close to us. Please support us in raising funds for St Paul's Church and stay connected with loved ones this Christmas. Head on over to our o nline gift shop .

We are excited to be welcoming our new Vicar in the next couple of weeks and we look forward to you getting to know him. In the meantime, here are a few things that David would like to share about himself. Revd. David Tomlinson will be starting in the Jewellery Quarter on Monday 10 August so be sure to pop in say hello. Our open times are: 11am - 2pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday These may change so keep your eyes peeled on our social media.

Over the past couple of years St Paul's has had the pleasure of being led and supported by Revd. Canon Andrew Gorham. Yesterday on Sunday 26th July we wished him farewell and below is his final message to the Jewellery Quarter.

We are excited to announce that we have appointed Revd. David Tomlinson as the new Vicar of St Paul's. He comes with much experience and understanding of the city of Birmingham. We are excited by his energy and vision for St Paul's. Until the beginning of this year, David was Team Rector of Saffron Walden and Villages Team Ministry and Area Dean of Saffron Walden, in the diocese of Chelmsford. Below are words from David himself. I am delighted to have been appointed Vicar of St Paul’s and to have been called to serve in the Jewellery Quarter. I am very grateful to Andrew for his excellent leadership and his contribution to the community over recent years, and will be looking to nurture the life that has arisen and strengthen the church’s role in the JQ, and city. I greatly look forward to getting to know everyone. I come with a rich and varied experience of ministry, and a history and commitment to collaboration in and beyond the church. I am currently chairing Thrive Together Birmingham the community regeneration arm of the diocese, for instance. I am father to grown-up daughters and am married to Jenny. Cycling is my main sporting pursuit, now that my footballing and cricketing days are over, and I have completed LEJOG (Land’s End to John O’Groats) and MIZMAL - the Irish equivalent). Cooking, reading and the arts are my other passions. I also write, on leadership, worship, love and spirituality, and my second book is to be published in the autumn. I hope that it wouldn’t be too long before I can be licensed by the Bishop, and begin to enjoy being and working with you. With love and prayers, David

We are delighted to have our West Doors open again to the public for you have a moment of calm and reflection. We will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11am - 2pm. We have put measures in place to ensure public health and safety. Please continue to visit our website and social media pages for further updates.

Here at St Paul’s hearts have been broken because of the silence and indifference seen in the Church. Admittedly, it has taken us a while to say something and for that we apologise. However, this isn’t a matter that will fade just because it does from the news cycle. Far too often terminology like ‘in light of recent events’ has been used. Unfortunately, these are not recent events. Crimes against black people across the world and here in the UK are not new and are not recent. The protests staged over the weekend were not because of recent events but were sparked by the more recent killings of black people - Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade and countless others. There are even more countless and uncounted others that are not recent. For many years people have been fighting these injustices in USA, UK and here in Birmingham. We must continue in that fight against injustice. The bible is very important to Christians and there are many ways in which it tells us the mistreatment, oppression and exploitation of any people group is wrong. As Christians we believe that we are called ‘to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.' (Micah 6:8) Act Justly We must recognise that we live in a sinful and broken world. God demands his people actively seek justice for those being oppressed and confront their oppressors, whether individuals, institutions or systems and seek lasting change. God's people are instructed to pray for God's Spirit to triumph over the principalities and powers that are using these events and systems of injustice to oppress and hold people in bondage. Love Mercy All human beings are created in God's image and are of equal value. We are to consider everyone better than ourselves and put their interests first with no favouritism towards those who are like us or prejudice against those who are not. Walk Humbly Scripture recognises negative attitudes or actions toward others as sin requiring our repentance and the help of His Spirit to change. We admit that the Church of England was complicit in justifying the institution of slavery and therefore must act tirelessly to ensure that we work against the covert as well as overt injustices in our places of worship and offices, just as tirelessly as our forbearers did in abolishing the new affront to human dignity. This means that we will tirelessly analyse every policy, every procedure, every practice, every element of our way worshipping and our way of working, to ensure equity for members of the black community. As a heritage site we will look to uncover the untold stories of St Paul’s Church and the Jewellery Quarter. We will do our best to better understand the roles of black people in the life of St Paul’s Church in the Jewellery Quarter.