About us
The Eric Liddell Centre is a charity providing specialist caring
services from a unique historic building in south central Edinburgh.
Founded in 1980 by local people, all of our trustees are volunteers who live or work in the local community.
Our building was formerly Morningside North parish church and has been extensively modified to meet local community needs.
In
1992 the Centre was renamed the Eric Liddell Centre in memory of the
Olympic gold medalist who was portrayed in the film Chariots of Fire.
Eric Liddell studied in Edinburgh, lived locally, and had a strong
belief in service to his local community.
Mission statement
The Eric Liddell Centre in Edinburgh is
dedicated to inspiring, empowering, and supporting people of all ages,
cultures and abilities, as an expression of compassionate Christian
values.
What we doThe Eric Liddell Centre is a Christian organisation that acknowledges
the infinite value and potential of each unique human being. It is
endeavouring, through its current services to maintain a full programme
addressing physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs by
offering:
- A specialist day care service for people with a diagnosis of dementia.
- A project for carers that provides drop-in support plus educational,
social and health based courses - recognised by HM Inspectorate of
Education as ‘a model of good practice’.
We also provide:
- Low cost office space for small charities.
- Rooms for other groups providing activities for children and young people.
The
Centre is also committed to the conservation and enhancement of the
listed property and its environment including our important collection
of stained glass.
If you would like to help us please visit our support us page.
ValuesYou can read our values statement here.
Current work
The Centre is endeavouring, through its current services, to
maintain a
full programme addressing
physical, emotional, intellectual and
spiritual needs by offering a wide ranging community and care
programme to meet identified need. In particular the needs of people
with a diagnosis of dementia and carers. The
Centre also provides community facilities for the local
population, and quality office
accommodation for other charities.
A
review of the Centre’s core work and its use by local community groups
confirms that activities at the Centre are defined by the following
categories of public benefit:
- The provision of care for the aged, people with disability, young people and children.
- The advancement of education.
- The advancement of health.
- The advancement of religion.
- The advancement of civic responsibility or community development.
- The advancement of amateur sports.
- The advancement of arts, culture and heritage.
Every
year the Centre provides services to over 100 community, citywide and
national groups that serve the 2,000 people who come to the Centre
every week.
History
1978
After a year of discussion, on the 31st October 1978, four Edinburgh
churches, Christ
Church, Morningside, Morningside Congregational Church (where
Eric Liddell was a member and taught Bible Class - now known as Morningside United
Church), Morningside
Baptist Church and North Morningside Parish Church agreed:
“To
encourage the setting up of a Centre as proposed, subject to sufficient
interest of individuals within each church joining the Centre as
individual members”
The notes of the time go on to say:
“Subsequent circulars and
signatures establish that such interest greatly exceeds the minimum
required.”
A steering committee was then appointed to progress the proposal.
1980
Notes from 1980 reveal:
“The
Steering Committee set up by the four churches two years ago has now
completed its work….. Your steering committee now asks for your full
support in setting up and establishing the Holy Corner Church Centre.”
Purpose of the Centre:
“To
act on behalf of Morningside Baptist Church, Christ Church Morningside,
North Morningside Church and Morningside Congregational Church as an
expression of their joint Christian witness to further the provision of
community services to all members of the community of whatever age and
whatever circumstance, irrespective of denominational life.”
They state that:
“Whatever we do
apart we can do more effectively together”
The
meeting held on 30th January 1980 for the inauguration of the Holy
Corner Church Centre became “an historic milestone in the life and
development of our churches.”
1981
Charitable status was granted in July 1981.
In October 1981 the Centre purchased North Morningside Parish Church
for the princely sum of £20,000.
1982
In
October 1982 Morningside United Church (an historic union of members of
the former North Morningside Parish Church and Morningside
Congregational Church) gave an interest free loan of £10,000.
1984
In
May 1984 the Council of the Holy Corner Church Centre agreed the
setting up of a separate trading company…. “The Sycomore”
provided teas, coffees, snacks and lunches at reasonable prices. It
also sold cards, books and souvenirs.
1986
In 1986 the Pastoral
Foundation was established in offices in New Hall. The Pastoral
Foundation was originally set up to provide training services for
ministers and church leadership teams. Over the years they have
developed into a highly regarded counselling service that is now known
as “The PF Counselling Service”.
1987
As plans got underway to
refurbish the former church building by holding an architectural
competition, the then minister of Morningside United Church, Revd. J.
Stewart Miller suggested linking the Holy Corner Church Centre name
with Eric Liddell.
On Feb 23rd 1987 the jury met to consider
competitors' plans and choose a winner of the competition to design a
Centre capable of serving the local community well into the 21st
Century. Nicholas Groves-Raines Architects was chosen as the winner.
April
1987 was a busy month in which the trustees agreed that the development
and building scheme should be promoted as the “Eric Liddell Centre”.
The 1987 AGM reports progress and growth in the following activities:
Fellowship
of Healing, Pastoral Foundation, Lunch Club, Napier Club, Job Club and
The Sycomore. It was also agreed that a central office for
the
benefit of churches and Centre should be set up.
It was noted that they would require to raise £1m for the building
scheme.
1993
The Eric Liddell Centre Appeal was launched on 18th February 1993.
The
Executive Committee advised the Board on 17th November 1993 that a
tender in the sum of £598,695 had been accepted. By this time £410,604
had been raised.
The Centre continued to develop new
services including The Corner, a drop in service for people with mental
health problems created in partnership with Christ Church ,
Morningside. The Tuesday and Thursday Clubs were also added to the
Centre’s portfolio in an effort to provide specialised day care for
people with a diagnosis of dementia.
A report by one of the
trustees, Professor John Richardson, on the future management of the
Centre in 1993 recommended the appointment of a manager for the Centre.
A group was set up to progress the recommendation by “bringing in a
person who could drive through sufficient activities to make the Centre
financially viable.”
Some photographs taken during the rebuilding work. There are more here:
1994
Phase 1 of the Eric Liddell Centre
development was completed and opened in 1994 at which time
the
Centre was visited by HRH the Prince of Wales. Many of the Centre’s
users still talk about their delight at meeting and chatting to Prince
Charles!
1995
The 1995 AGM heard of the appointment of a
Community Projects Manager who started in October 1995 initially funded
for two years by the three local churches. Operating in the completed
ground floor of the Centre and in the former church hall, the
Centre had approximately 300 users attending eight groups at this time.
There were 2 tenancies.
The Centre was also
working closely with the newly set up 3Ms Development Project, a
partnership of local charities, community groups and politicians, who
were committed to researching the needs of the local
community.
The Ca(i)re – Putting the “I” into Care Project was being developed by
this time in partnership with other groups who have a specialist
interest in supporting informal caregivers in their arduous and
stressful roles.
1996
The 3Ms Social Needs Survey was published
in November 1996 and was to hold a pivotal role in the future
development of the Centre. In addition to the support that this
research provided for the Centre and other local groups, it also
highlighted the need for youth work in the area. The Centre is proud to
have been a founding partner of the 3Ms Millennium Volunteer
Partnership that was more recently renamed the 3Ms Youth Partnership.
The Partnership was set up to address the need for youth work in the
local community.
1997
The Liddell Viewpoint programme commenced
in November 1997. Meeting in the common room at Viewpoint Housing
Association’s premises at Gillespie Crescent this programme provided
offsite, specialist day care services to people with a diagnosis of
dementia. Recently, this service was relocated to the Centre's Bradbury
Suite. The amalgamated service was registered with the Scottish
Commission for the Regulation of Care during 2007 and received its
first inspection in February 2009. You can search for the report at the
Care Commission website or download it directly from here.
1998
By
December 1998 an additional £1.2m had been raised for Phase 2 which was
completed by November 2000. The Business Plan of the time shows the
Centre being used by 28 other groups and 446 users per week and
anticipating growth to 746 per week on completion of Phase 2.
2002
In
2002, The Sycomore Cafe underwent a revamp and changed its name to
THE1924. In the autumn of 2004, Mrs Patricia Russell ( Eric Liddell’s
eldest daughter) and other members of the Liddell family attended the
opening of a permanent exhibition of photographs depicting important
moments in Eric Liddell's life in THE1924. It continued to serve the
community as Cafe Gold until it was closed in March 2009. The
photographic exhibition has been relocated within the Centre.
2008
With the support of
Historic Scotland and Heritage Lottery, over £450,000 was raised to
complete Phase 3 of the Centre's refurbishment. These Phase 3 works
were completed in early 2008 and included the restoration of many of
the Centre’s wonderful stained glass windows and repairs to the tower
and roof of the former café. Why not ask about a tour to view the
windows?
Since
its establishment the use of the Centre has continued to grow to over
100 user groups serving
approximately 2,000 people of all ages each week of the year. Six other
charities occupy office space in the building.
The future
We give thanks for a generation of members, volunteers and
trustees who have given their time, expertise and love to ensure that
the vision they were called to achieve became and continues to become reality.
|
|
|
