A pub in Norwich, England is being reopened and revitalised by a local church cultivating a 'public home' for the community.
The Mitre pub, which reopens this Sunday, is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. Christian Today spoke with Ian Dyble, vicar of St Thomas Norwich – the pioneering church behind the project.
'I went on holiday, and went into a pub one evening and the local vicar was behind the bar,' he says. This stirred Ian to think, 'If the locals don't come to the Church then I'll go out and meet them.' He hoped that one day he might use a public house as a means of connecting a community.
After The Mitre pub changed hands a couple of times, when it became vacant again in 2015 St Thomas' decided, with the backing of the congregation, to purchase it for £500,000.
Dyble says he sees the project more as a 'public home, not a public house... a place where we can engage with the community, find out what their needs are and journey through them together'.
He adds: 'We have the best message in the world but people aren't coming into churches to hear it.' He hopes not only to cultivate a new, approachable context to share that message, but also to engage and facilitate community growth.
The Mitre will serve as a hub for engaging the community in social action projects, and funds raised from its business will also go towards funding local initiatives such as serving the poor, welcoming refugees and supporting those who have recently left prison.
In addition, Dyble hopes the building can function as a 'resource and need bank', connecting community needs with those who can help, so that the church can become a 'facilitator for community growth'.
The Mitre will operate as a pub, bistro and café, and will sell craft ales by the bottle. It opens in its new form this Sunday after a celebration and thanksgiving service as St Thomas Norwich, which is just next door to the pub on Earlham Road.
Dyble notes that the name of 'Mitre' is appropriate to keep given that a bishop's mitre is often thought to represent to coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
He adds: 'We're not selling spirits, we're just hoping people will engage with the Holy Spirit.'
Dyble reports a 'really positive' reaction to the project from the local community. He insists that this isn't a purely middle-class venture but is for all in the community across the social spectrum, whether as a meeting venue or through the projects it supports.
'It's not by any means a coffee shop for the trendy', he says. 'This is a community facility for everybody.'
