News Page
It’s been 3 months since the last update leaflet, during which time the Fund has swollen to almost £38,000. Once again, we’ve received money from so many generous people. We are very grateful for their support.
We have now received the Feasibility Study and have held a couple of sessions for the congregation to explain what this involves. We are considering the options in some detail at the moment. We know we need to adapt the church when we move back in, but we need to choose the best possible way forward.
We were cheered in June by the news that English Heritage have granted us £9,000 to undertake all the necessary planning and paperwork needed before we can embark on the second stage of the grant process, which will be our acceptance by March of £60,000 to undertake necessary repairs of the church building.
We are just beginning a stewardship campaign during which we hope to encourage people to increase their giving and also to put in their weekly envelopes every week. We really do need this extra cash if we are to sustain ourselves in the future.
Our range of merchandise is still available. There are pens, pencils, bookmarks, keyrings and CDs, so please see Karen if you would like to buy these. We’re hoping to have Christmas cards available again this year – watch this space!
An Evening With Eric Knowles was a very enjoyable ‘do’. Eric was in sparkling form and we raised around £600 from this event. Eric gave his services free but Anne Haworth treated him to a bottle of bubbly and very kindly paid his hotel bill.
The Big Walk, organised by the Rotary, took place on a very hot day in May and netted us another £850. Thank you to all those people who suffered for a good cause!
Pat’s Sponsored Swim has had a great response and the money from this is still pouring in. We expect the final total to be in the region of £1,000 – fantastic!
Jon Garon Sings Elvis was another great evening; Jon was in good voice and the event raised £700.
Events coming up include:
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A charity cricket match between an Accrington XI and a team from the Castle pub, at Thorneyholme Road on 22nd August.
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The Staples2Naples Banger Rally in September.
Details of other money raised since the last update:
- Rishton Methodist Church gave us £40
- Accrington Stanley’s bucket collection realised £400
- Daniel Walton took part in the Great Coastal Run and raised £51
Thank you to everyone!
Since our last update at the beginning of March the Fund has increased by £5,000 and now stands at an amazing £30,000. We’ve received money from lots of generous supporters and we have several events in the pipeline.
Our range of merchandise is selling well: we have pens, pencils, bookmarks and keyrings as well as CDs.
The Mothering Sunday service was very well attended – we had to move into the school hall, as the chapel wasn’t big enough! Tea and toast sold like magic and we raised money as well as sharing a wonderful sense of fellowship together. The service on Easter Sunday was similarly a great success. We’re very grateful to Revd Gerald Higham for continuing to ‘stand-in’ for us and for his lovely sense of humour and fun. We’re also grateful to St Christopher's for allowing us to make free with the school every Sunday! Our best wishes go to Ian in his present illness.
The article that Anne Haworth had published in the NADFAS magazine has resulted in several enquiries and two donations.
We received cash from two sponsored events: special thanks go to Caroline Lee for her magnificent effort in the London Marathon and to Accrington Stanley fans for their walk to Rochdale.
Latest news on the building is that the electricity has now been reconnected and we expect the boiler to be serviced soon.
Events coming up include:
- An Evening With Eric Knowles on 30 April at the Coppice Theatre, Accrington and Rossendale College. Tickets are £5.00 and the event starts at 7.00pm.
- An Elvis Night with Jon Garon at Accrington Stanley Sports Bar on 10 May. £5.00; adults only.
- A sponsored walk along the canal by Church and Ossy Rotary including a group from St John's on 11 May.
Details of money raised since the last update are:
- Mothering Sunday activities raised £156.15.
- Accrington Stanley’s sponsored walk realised £1,000.
- Caroline Lee ran the London Marathon and made £1,088.
- Two NADFAS groups contributed £180.00 between them.
- Ken Sharples swelled the Fund by £700.00 when he donated his 60th birthday money.
- Moccachinos coffee shop held a raffle and raised £110.00.
- Pupils at The Hollins raised £154.00 by wearing a hat to school!
- Elsie and Colin held a table top sale at Willow Close Community Centre and made £137.00
We are extremely grateful to everyone who supported us.
St John's website: www.stjohns-accrington.org
St John's email: savestjohns@googlemail.com
Our campaign goes from strength to strength, thanks largely to the coverage in the Accrington Observer. We are very grateful to them. We reached the ‘halfway’ stage this week: that is £25,000 raised so far, although it should be noted that this includes a cheque of £3,000 from Hyndburn Council. We have not actually received this! They are meeting again to discuss the matter and we are hopeful that they will decide to make us this donation.
Our range of merchandise is selling well and has been increased by pens and pencils - super value at 50p each. We also have lovely bookmarks now for sale at 50p, made by Marilyn.
Our ‘open afternoon’ on Sunday 24 January raised £125 for the Fund and was a good chance to chat, re-watch the Songs of Praise video on the big screen and listen to the two CDs we have for sale.
The co-operation with the college continues: they are very keen to do an audio-visual display for us and their staff have been very helpful.
We have formed a link with the Probation Service. They came to cut back a lot of the bushes in the churchyard and generally tidied up. We really appreciate their interest.
Eric Knowles has promised us an event but we have no firm date yet, although 30 April has been mentioned. Watch this space…!
The Pals’ Service was held at St James’ Church on
16 February and was a great success. They are
generously giving the collection money to the Fund.
Details of money raised since the last update are:
- Hyndburn Independent Pool League gave us £160.00.
- The Freemasons donated £200.00.
- The Nag’s Head Volunteers held a Charity Night and made £400.00 for us.
- The Fireside Fusiliers Concert in Clayton raised £565.00 and was a very enjoyable evening.
- The Accrington Motor Cycle Club Rock Night swelled the Fund by £300.00.
- Sydney Street WMC held a Race Night and raised £290.00.
Our weekly church refreshment money stands at £234.00.
Personal donations are still being handed in at the Observer offices - over £14,000 so far – and several people have taken out standing orders.
We are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported us.
If you have any ideas for fundraising, please mention them to one of the Aspire Group: Andy, Frank, Helen, Karen, Margaret, Marilyn and Sheila. If you’d like to join us, you’d be very welcome!
St John's website: www.stjohns-accrington.org
St John's email: savestjohns@googlemail.com
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Our Sunday meetings have been very fruitful and positive and we thank everybody who has given up their time to stay for these. Grateful thanks go to all the people who have helped with the campaign so far.
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On 19th October the Observer launched a fundraising campaign for us. There has been a great response and we’ve collected over £6,000 so far. Karen is the Fundraising Co-ordinator and is doing a super job. Unfortunately, we have had terrible problems with the new NatWest St John's Pals Fund account, which have meant that there has been a delay paying in the cheques we’ve received (all cash has been paid into the 3Rs account). We hope the account will be sorted out very soon.
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Our Christmas cards have been selling like hot cakes! We’ve had four beautiful designs printed (thanks to Elsie and John) and they’ve proved very popular. At £3.00 for ten cards they are very good value. You can purchase them at the Accrington Observer offices, at the Town Hall, at Platts’ Interiors on Abbey Street or at the Peel Park pub, but hurry – they’re going fast!
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The recent bucket collection at Accrington Stanley realised over £700 for the Fund. We are very grateful to them for their involvement.
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The Christmas quiz has sold well (£60 taken so far). Sheila and Andy have received several correct answers already. The closing date is 9th December so it’s not too late to buy one and get your thinking caps on! There is a £10.00 prize.
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Mr Nigel Rix, surveyor, came to speak to us in October and left with a much clearer idea about our hopes for the future of the building. We have since formally commissioned him to undertake the feasibility study for us. We have also appointed Mr Ivan Wilson from Clitheroe as our church architect.
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At a recent PCC meeting we obtained permission to instruct Moore Electrical Contractors of Brierfield to undertake the necessary repairs to make the church safe and to satisfy the insurers. This will cost around £3,000. Once this work is completed we should be able to re-open with heating and lighting. However, we are presently awaiting a faculty from the Diocese which we need before work can start.
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The cleaning and gardening morning was a big success and the church and grounds look much neater now. Frank tidied the Garden of Remembrance in time for our Remembrance Day service.
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