Charity gets approval to build 50-metre-tall Christian monument

15 Sep 2020 News

The design of Eternal Wall of Answered Prayers

A charity has received final permission from the council to build a massive Christian monument celebrating answered prayers in Warwickshire.

Eternal Wall of Answered Prayers will be 51 metres in height and is expected to generate up to £430m in donations.

The monument will be made of one million bricks, representing answered prayers submitted by people across the country. Visitors will be able to scan each brick with a bespoke app and read the prayers on their smartphones.

The monument aims to become a tourist attraction, and will have parking space, a café and a visitor centre.

It will be built on a site near Coleshill, in North Warwickshire, and be more than twice as big as the Angel of the North.

It is the brainchild of Richard Gamble, former chaplain of Leicester City Football Club and CEO of The Wall of Answered Prayer, which has been a registered charity since 2017. 

Profits to go towards social housing

Eternal Wall of Answered Prayers will cost about £9m to build, and the funds will come from a mix of major donors and crowdfunding. The crowdfunder hasn’t started yet but the charity said once all existing commitments are confirmed, it will look to raise £4.2m through it.

Construction works are due to begin in Spring 2021 and be completed by Autumn 2022.

The charity estimates that 300,000 people a year will visit the attraction, contributing £9.3m to the local economy. 

Once it is built, the monument is expected to generate enough profit to fund the construction of 100 homes for social housing. Further profits will go towards “other charities, social housing and local groups”.

People can already submit their answered prayers on the charity’s website, explaining how one of their prayers has been granted by God. According to the website, the project has already recorded almost 25,000 prayers.

Believers who submit their prayers can choose whether to donate to the charity as well. The project’s impact document says that the average donation made to Eternal Wall of Answered Prayers so far is £72.

It says: “In total there are six million spaces for answered prayers on the faces of bricks associated with The Wall. If all six million spaces attract similar levels of average donation, then The Wall could potentially yield a gross direct investment of £430m over time.”

‘Thought-provoking public art’

Gamble said: “It’s been 16 years since the idea was first born. To finally receive the official consent is incredible. 

“Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer will make hope visible to the UK. It is unique in that it is all about the community: it is crowdfunded and a million people will come together to crowd-create this incredible piece of art with their stories of hope.

“We want to celebrate and remember all the prayers that God has answered for individuals throughout our nation’s history. Each answered prayer could provide hope to those who visit. Our desire is to create thought-provoking public art and offer a space for recreation and reflection for everyone.”

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