St. Francis is celebrating the completion of building work to introduce a disabled toilet and kitchen/servery area at the West end of church.
Prior to this work, the church had no facilities of any kind there.
The project took six years of fundraising and was completed with the help of a generous grant from the Marshall’s Charity.
Fr. Stephen Niechcial, Vicar of St. Francis Petts Wood, said the facilities had made a real difference:
"As well as being for the use of our usual congregation, the facilities have already been of huge help with other broader community events.
"We've been able to host a number of events including a Women’s Institute fund raiser fashion show, a presentation on the problem of people trafficking and modern slavery, and a contribution from Bromley Borough forum on the problem of flooding."
Other events have included a thought-provoking session on behalf of the refugee charity Refugym.
The charity works with refugees in Europe to address the boredom and stagnation that can ensue while they await to resume a normal life, exacerbating mental health issues.
Through sport, the charity provides them with the opportunity to exercise, release feel-good endorphins and enjoy some much-needed escapism.
Father Stephen continued:
"It is a great boost to our local mission and ministry for us to be able to offer our church facilities (usually at no charge) to community groups and organisations. We already have several community events planned for 2020 and hope more will join the list."