St Andrew's raise £100,000

The Reverend Canon Sharon Jones (left) and Church Warden Susan Knight don their hard hats and get down to business

Thanks to "overwhelming" support the people of St Andrew's and the wider community have raised £100,000 to fund the ambitious Wider Welcome scheme, on which work has now started.

The three-year plan, launched on 1 October  2010, was to raise enough money to completely refurbish the parish room at the back of church in order to provide a first-rate community centre in which St Andrew's could extend a wider welcome to all who live in Dearnley and Smithy Bridge.

The parish room will be transformed into a light, spacious area, incorporating a much-needed disabled toilet facility and separated from the worship area by a glass screen with folding doors to permit maximum flexibility of use.

If work progresses as intended, the weekend of November 30 and December 1 is planned to be one of celebration and blessing, also incorporating our St Andrew's Day activities.

Peter Shrigley, chairman of the project team, said in a message to parishioners: "I am delighted to report that we are on schedule to achieve the desired outcome.

"The budget estimate was £100,000 plus vat. Happily, the project has attracted overwhelming support with the result that, at the time of writing, we have raised £100,000 and we are confident of securing the additional funds needed to meet the overall cost of the work.

"On behalf of the project team may I thank you all for your continuing support."

The money was raised over the three-year period thanks to individual donations, legacies, fund raising by individuals and church organisations and grants.

Our vicar, the Rev Sharon Jones, added her personal thanks to all concerned.

She said: "It isn't an easy task to adapt precious old buildings for wider community use.

"Arriving as vicar of Dearnley seven years ago, I inherited a vision cherished by others who had gone before me, to make the church building more accessible and welcoming to the whole community of Dearnley and Smithy Bridge.

"It has always been part of the Christian message that all are welcome to share the life and worship of Christ's Church.

"Wider Welcome speaks loudly of our understanding of the Gospel and out commitment to faithfully follow the way of Christ. We look forward to the expected completion of the project by December."

Sung Eucharist on Sunday mornings now starts at 9.30am, and this week we have Holy Baptism at noon.

On September 22, we will have our Harvest Thanksgiving when the theme will be: 'Give Hunger The Boot.'