This is a text-only version of an article first published on Wednesday, 15 May 2019. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
A £750,000 church repair project has united a community and seen a congregation grow in the Berkshire village of Binfield. After seeing the Quinquennial Report on All Saints' Church in Binfield, church warden Dave Saunders asked the PCC for permission to commission a separate survey which revealed the need for major repairs to the walls and the roof. "We needed to raise £750,000.
That is a gobsmackingly large sum for a not necessarily wealthy parish church.
I presented the findings to the PCC and we set up the ARC (All Saints' Repair and
Children take part in a sponsored Wilderness Walk.
Kate Hayes.
Care) project. "We've raised the funds already and it has really brought people together.
What we have tried to do is generate support in the parish.
It doesn't matter if people are churched or unchurched. "Events now include the Binfield 10K, which sees 600 people join in a charity run around the village with funds raised split between the school and the church.
A roof raising concert by DadsRLoud saw the audience dancing in the aisles while Tag a Tile sees people pay a fiver to write a message on a tile.
The tiles will be used to replace the existing roof.
A wine tasting evening, quiz, summer fete and a cream tea series were among the events that have helped raise the funds, along with some grants. "People have seen that it's not about All Saints' asking for money but about preserving the building and bringing people together.
We've had a six per cent congregation rise in the last three years.
We have an electoral roll approaching 250 members and it's growing.
More people are getting involved in our welcome and preaching teams and we've set up a band. "