Home Office Petition – theft of metal

As you will be aware, metal theft is a significant and increasing problem in the UK and an especially big issue for churches. Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash in hand industry; which creates difficulties as there is no audit trail, making identification of individuals who may be trading stolen metal or who may be committing tax or benefits fraud, a difficult proposition.   An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payment by cheque or directly into a bank account mandatory and would be a significant component in reducing metal theft.

Please forward this petition to anyone who you think might be interested.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406

Come join the fun at St Agnes' United Church, Burmantofts - Tomorrow 10-3

Tomorrow St Agnes' United Church will be open it's doors for a community fun day for all the family. The event is an opportunity for people to help shape the vision for the church within Burmantofts. There will be opportunities for those who have views about Burmantofts, the church and its future to have their say and help the church to make decisions about what path to take in the future. All suggestions are welcome from event venue to community cafe to pottery workshop. All you need to bring is your ideas and views about where you live.

Calling All Grade II Listed Churches in need of Urgent Repair - Repair Grants for Places of Worship

This is a reminder that the deadline for Grade II churches for the Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme is looming. The deadline for 2011 is September 30th. The scheme is administered by English Heritage with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. To be eligible for the scheme your church must be in financial need (i.e. you don't have the funds in your reserves) and the works must be urgent (need to be completed within the next year). Details of the scheme and the application form and Guidance can be seen at:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/funding/grants/grants-available/rgpow/

If your church is in Ripon and Leeds Diocese I can help with any enquiries. You can contact me on 0113 2000544 or Alice.Ullathorne@riponleeds-diocese.org.uk

Long Time no See - Exemplar of the Month-ish - Allerton Bywater

It's been quite a time since I've posted. I've been away for a while and catching up for the rest but thought I'd start back with a really good example of the development of a church seen at St Mary the Less, Allerton Bywater, Leeds.



Exterior of the extension



The development of St Mary's took several months last year and the fifty strong congregation met in other community facilities while a £216,000 refurbishment scheme was underway to provide a new extension and new flooring to the mid-19th century church.



The new annexe extension built onto the side of the church boasts a new kitchen and toilets, while in the main church the sanctuary floor was lowered, a new floor with under floor heating installed, new seating added and a new Makin electronic organ installed to replace the old Victorian pipe organ.

Interior of the extension showing how it relates to the church

Much of the money for the project came from the sale of a derelict church hall. During the work, original and previously hidden stained glass windows were discovered as well as a blocked off spiral staircase leading to a hidden loft behind the old organ.

The development works really well because it provides all the facilities the church needs under one roof. The congregation no longer need to walk round the corner to the church hall on a cold December morning to use the facilities. Everything is now on hand. The development has also created two spaces that can be used for different events at the same time allowing the church to open its doors more widely to the community.

Kitchen and Toilet Facilities



As you can see the extension blends in very well with the church outside and in. This is a really a very good example of what can be achieved without costing the earth and the benefits of have everything under one roof.