AN 86-year-old volunteer who played a crucial role in the creation of a new church in Worcester has been presented with an award for her contribution to the life of the church.

Jean Norman, from St Wulstan’s Church in Warndon, was given the Wulfstan Cross by the bishop of Worcester, Rt Revd Dr John Inge, at a special evensong in the cathedral for St Wulfstan’s Day.Mrs Norman was instrumental in the building of St Wulstan’s Church. On moving into the estate when it was built in the early 1960s, she wrote to the then Bishop of Worcester to ask for a church.

Before it was built, communion services took place around her dining room table and as a young mum, she motivated the community to raise funds for the building.

She said: “There were a lot of young families who had moved onto the new estate and I felt there needed to be somewhere for the children to go.

"It’s great that a church has grown from the six or seven people who originally met in my house – we used to take a wheelbarrow full of home-grown vegetables around the estate just to try to raise money for cups and saucers.

"It’s a real honour to receive this award from Bishop John, I could never have expected it. The church has always been a part of my life – I watched it being built brick by brick.

"It belongs to the community and I love both the church and the people there. My only sadness is that my husband Idris isn’t around to share this with – he was always so supportive and certainly enabled me to do what I did.”

Jean is still bookings secretary for the church hall and when she is well, she can be found in church most days. St. Wulstan’s vicar, Rev Charles Thomas, said: “I can think of no more worthy recipient of this award. Jean is an amazing lady who has given her heart and soul to St. Wulstan’s. Everyone knows her and she’s a great evangelist for her faith, the church and the local community.”

Bishop John said: “I’m delighted to be able to award the St Wulfstan’s Cross to Jean who has done so much for the church and the Christian faith in Worcester. There might not have been a church on the Warndon estate if it wasn’t for her dedication and she is a shining example to us all of being Christ’s light and love in our communities.”

St Wulfstan, or Wulstan, lived in the 11th century and was Bishop of Worcester under the last two Saxon kings and the first two Norman kings.