Bringing new life to old building

THE Archbishop of Canterbury visited Wantage on Ascension Day for the official opening of the Butler Centre for education, which provides wraparound care for children from two years.

The centre is housed in the Victorian infant school building. The school left the site for a new building in 2003, and the vision for the Butler Centre came from members of SS Peter and Paul church in the centre of the town.

It now comprises a nursery for children from two to four, and a breakfast and after school club for older children.

The archbishop said he was ‘delighted to see what could be done by the church and community working in harmony, with imagination.

‘In a community like this relationships between families and the wider community is still, thank God, possible. This centre is a concrete witness to that. This is a place that belongs to everyone, it is a sign of hope.’

‘If the church cannot provide a place for everyone, I don't know who can, or what the church thinks it should be doing,’ he said.

He toured the nursery and after-school clubs, joining in for a game of table football and helping youngsters with word puzzles before praising staff and churchgoers for their commitment to the centre. He told the Door that centres like these were ‘not about replacing families, but helping them’ and urged the Government to develop family friendly policies. He said his own two children had used nurseries on occasion, while his wife Jane worked part-time.

Chairman of the centre, Alastair Hunter, said: ‘The centre was about putting our Christian beliefs into practice and really reaching out to the community. What we are trying to do is to help parents in their lives today.’

He thanked all those who had prayed for the centre, and Anne Cheeseman, the centre manager.