Below, Margaret Mackinder explains why more fund-raising is required to secure the future of All Saints’ Slingsby.
All Saints Church Council has recently announced the award of a large Heritage Lottery Grant to enable it to repair the roof using theft-proof materials and install an effective and insurance approved security surveillance system. (See our website post of 30.5.2019 here)
The total cost of the project is £317,443.00. This still leaves more money to be raised to add to the Lottery Grant award of £232,700. To do this we have applied for over 45 grants, and have been successful with smaller awards from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust, York Diocese, the All Churches Trust, the Sir John Priestman Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation. There have been some generous individual donations as well as some well-supported fund raising, such as the recent bridge evening.
The grant award means that the church and village community will not have to bear the full brunt of the disastrous lead theft, and that the church can remain open for the services which mean so much to the community. However, there is still money to be raised, particularly the sum of £6,800 to cover the cost of the CCTV security installation. We need this funding in place before we can go ahead with the project.
Please support our fund-raising efforts this summer. Planned so far are:
An afternoon concert by Terrington Village Choir on Saturday 29th June at 3pm. Tickets are £10 and include a full sit-down afternoon tea in the village hall afterwards. They are available from the Village shop or PCC members, or on the door.
On September 8th there will be a Churchyard market/coffee morning with guided tour of the church, from 10am to 12pm
If you cannot come to any of these events and would like to make a donation, please put it in an envelope marked ‘Church Roof Fund’ and put it thought the letterbox of Porch House, The Green, Slingsby.
All Saints’ Church is an historic Grade ii* listed building, parts of it dating back to medieval times. It is a substantial well-built building which will be there to serve the community for many years into the future. It is little used for church services now as it is part of a large group of churches served by a single priest. It is of course available to everyone for baptisms, weddings and funerals and is open to visit at any time, as is the churchyard. Additional use as a local history centre, including facilities for exhibitions are planned as part of the current project, and other uses to support its future are always under consideration. The Church of England does not fund repairs and the church council and village community it serves have responsibility for its care.
Margaret Mackinder