As a result of the lockdown conditions, our finances have taken a big hit. We cannot raise money from the rent of the church rooms; people are not putting money on the plate since we’re not allowed to have services; weddings and funerals in church have had to be cancelled. However we still have bills to pay - the largest of which is the cost of having a parish priest. So realistically, this money is very well timed and may be spent keeping the show on the road. That means that there will still be an active worship community at the heart of village life and that the church will still be there to worship and serve this community.
The population of the parish is about 7,000, and last year St Mary’s had 6 weddings, 8 baptisms, 22 funerals and interred 12 sets of ashes. Attendance at Christmas was over 500 and at Easter over 300. The church has good links with the community and with more regularly live-streamed services, more people can engage with worship.
One of the other projects we’re supporting is the Diocesan Family Support Work Food Bank project - throughout lockdown their work has become even more significant, and so far we’ve sent about 12 box loads of materials.
