Mousehold Hub in Norwich dedicated for God's work  

Mousehold Hub, located just north of Norwich and run by Norwich Central Baptist Church, has been given a new lease of life to serve the local community  

Norwich Central Baptist Church took over the running of the building last year and the vision for the building is for it to become a vibrant community hub. It is already used for a variety of groups, including a growing Portuguese-speaking church that meets there every Saturday. The Norwich Community Gospel Choir rehearse at the Hub every week and a popular Messy Church is well attended by the local community.

The building was formerly occupied by Silver Road Baptist Church, which was first established on the site on the corner of Silver Road and Mousehold Avenue in 1910. In 2017 members of the church took the difficult decision to close their church, as the upkeep and ongoing responsibility was proving too much for the ageing congregation.

Pastor of Norwich Central Baptist Church Revd Mark Fairweather-Tall said, 'There is much to be celebrated from the life of Silver Road Baptist Church, who did excellent work in impacting the community. We are seeking to build on this and we are excited at the possibilities there are to use the building to enrich community life in the area.

'As we do this we want to give people the opportunity to encounter faith because we believe that the best of life comes when we come to know the love of Jesus.'

The top floor of the premises has already been rented out to local charity Norwich Youth for Christ, who use the premises as their offices. Nick Blanch, Director of Norwich Youth for Christ said, 'This building was not made redundant but has been given a new life. Mousehold Hub has opened up amazing opportunities for us. We have more than just an office here, we have space to do youth work, hold band rehearsals and host things like youth-worker breakfasts.'

Norwich Youth for Christ’s alternative education programme, Boost, was an important factor in moving to the premises at Mousehold Hub and the charity now has seven students who were at risk of exclusion who come to the Hub once a week for their lessons.

Members of the church have consulted with the local community and want to provide for their needs and complement existing services in the area. There are plans to open a community cafe at Mousehold Hub in the Autumn.

This story first appeared on Network Norfolk and is republished with permission