The Shepherd, March 2007
BROOKWOOD NEWS, 2
HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND GRANT
THE KING EDWARD ORTHODOX TRUST has received a £30,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to facilitate the renovations and alterations that will be necessary in the old Mortuary Building, so that we can provide proper accommodation for the exhibition for visitors and toilet facilities for the disabled. The provision of this exhibition was one of the stipulations of the planning consent that we received for the building of the new monastic house and the other works here. Of this sum, half has already been paid into our account, and the residue will be paid on the completion of the works. The “Woking Review” made the grant a front-page story, reported by Shane Brock, and the “Woking Informer” carried the story with a picture of St Edward’s Church. Paul Jenner of Radio County Sound also conducted a brief interview with Fr Alexis about the grant which was recorded at 6.30 a.m. on Monday 26th February and broadcast an hour later.
“CLLR GOLDENBERG’S MIRACLE”
BROOKWOOD’S ward councillor, Philip Goldenberg, who did so much to help us with our planning application has used his good offices again to excellent and immediate effect. One of the stipulations of the planning consent was that the exhibition within the Mortuary Building should be complete before we move into the new house. We found that in practice this would have been almost impossible to achieve. Our accommodation is already cramped; the work entailed will temporarily put four rooms out of use, and we should have to live with the additional disruption of having the builders working here. We e-mailed Cllr Goldenberg late one evening asking if anything could be done about this. The very next day we received a reply e-mail informing us that the stipulation had been amended, allowing us a month’s grace after the completion of the new house before we have to complete the exhibition facility. Our sincere thanks yet again to Cllr Goldenberg!
BUILDING PROGRESS
AT THE END of February, the roof on the new Monastic House is nearing completion, held up a little while we wait for the delivery of the Cross for the turret. The windows have been glazed. Interiorly work is well under way on the plastering, and the essential wiring and plumbing has been put in place.
The Building Fund now stands at £583,268.97. In order to meet our commitment to the contractors, we need to collect another £20,000 before the end of May, and in total we will now need slightly less than £70,000 to reach our target figure. Please help us to attain this by giving now as generously and sacrificially as you can, and may the blessings of the Lord be upon you for doing so.
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PRACTICAL TIP
SPEAKING OF ALMSGIVING, which is a fundamental aspect of our keeping the fast conscientiously, we should perhaps draw the attention of our readers to a quandary that we know they sometimes find themselves in. Often one hears people worrying that they are short of money, and they often seek to remedy this situation by cutting down on their almsgiving. Sometimes, of course, this is absolutely necessary. But few stop to reflect that they are short of funds because they do not give enough in alms. God does love cheerful givers and He provides for them. When we mistrust that provision and try to manage things in our own way, then He withdraws His bounty. So lack of funds may not be a reason for cutting back on giving alms, but may well be a sign that we have not been giving generously enough. (Suggest this to your friends when they grumble about how little they have!) One Orthodox teacher used to stress that money is like water in a pipe. If the tap of almsgiving is closed, then no new water will run into the pipe.
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