St. Mary the Virgin, Lowgate
Kingston-upon-Hull
HU1 1EJ
www.stmaryslowgate.org.uk
Priest-in-Charge – Reverend Paul Burkitt
01482 218879
Vestry – 01482 618199
25th April 2015
Nicola Brockwell and Lauren Hansen.
Project assignment to St. Mary’s Church
A Customer Review.
May I begin by saying that it has been a delight, a privilege and an education to have known and worked with these two students.
From the outset, to the conclusion of their allocated time with us, there has been both an undying enthusiasm and an untiring commitment to the task they set themselves. They chose a subject, which had a need and a mission, St Mary’s has both.
Their focussed approach has been truly laudable and unswerving in appropriate response to our needs and our agenda. At all times, our opinions and preferences were highly respected, explored and then developed and acted upon.
Originally the cause was the ‘crumbling’ medieval church. As our relationship developed I believe the students became aware of the vibrancy of our community and the span of community involvement. The work with the homeless people of the City took on controversial proportions which, I believe, enhanced the sheer journalistic opportunities. Their project became firmly people focussed.
Nicola and Lauren were both very appropriately inquisitive and effective enquirers. They were able to perceive and research needs and find some creative action. Their primary action was the promote awareness of the Church and show-case both the significance and need of our building, our people and our vision.
One example was their discovering, (good investigative journalism), St. Mary’s link with Hull F.C. They made contact with the club; their official historian confirmed the origins of the club, which had been started by a former Vicar; a Look North feature ensued. This was nothing short of being a brilliant piece of intermedia, inter-community networking. On the back of this, the daily press and the radio have been alert to anything now which, ‘comes out of St Mary’s’. Nicola and Lauren were able to keep up an attractive profile which has always been in the public interest.
Social-media networking has also been a feature of their work and, for a medieval church, this has been an eye-opener. The results have been tangible. Publicising ongoing and special events as well as promoting the plight of the homeless has been severely important, and effectively beneficial to the campaigns.
As well as their lateral creativity of thought, their awareness of critical timing, accurate planning and factual accuracy, have also been features of their work. All these elements have come together in a finale for them and an opening for us. That is our project, (ongoing for some time), which was to set us a ‘Friends of St.Mary’s’.
The format and publicity and constitution et cetera, having been all done we needed a promotional/opening event with something special. Nicola and Lauren came up with a promotional video. It is an amazingly sensitive portrayal of all aspects of the work we do as ‘church’. For this they indeed are to be highly commended.
Throughout their time with us they have brought nothing but energy and positivity to the church. They have opened doors of research for us, and made our needs known in ways we could never have hoped to do.
I thank them on behalf of all of us at St Mary’s and we wish them well in their studies and their careers.
Paul