The Shepherd, August 2009
ROOFING PROGRESS & FUND
WE HAVE SUFFERED two setbacks to the roofing scheme in the last month. In doing the work, the contractors found certain structural repairs which, although not absolutely necessary at the present time, would need to be dealt with in time. It was thought better to deal with these now, while the church is out of commission, rather than leave them for some years, when we would again have to close the church and costs would probably be much higher. This has delayed the work. It has also cost us in the region of a further £7,500, and so just when we thought that we had topped the halfway mark in our roofing fund we had to re-assess the costs. It now appears that the project will overrun the original schedule by six weeks, and the church will not be ready for re-use when Bishop Ambrose visits (6/9/09 n.s.) or even for St Edward’s day. This is a sadness, but like every cloud it has a silver lining. We have more time to gather funds, and there will be another St Edward’s Day next year - two in fact!
On Monday, 7th / 20th July, the feast day of the Great Martyr Kyriaki and the Venerable Thomas of Mount Maleon, the two crosses for the church roof were blessed, and the first was raised on the central spire, on which the greater part of the restoration work is substantially complete. This was suddenly necessary as the engineer had come to install the lightning conductor and the cross had to be in situ. However it turned out to be singularly appropriate, because the following day was the anniversary of the repose of the Blessed King Edgar the Peaceable, the father of our St Edward, and therefore, in modern terms (although, admittedly, not in the understanding of those times), it would have been St Edward’s Accession Day and the cross on his church was erected ready for that day. The second Cross was raised over the sanctuary on Friday 18th / 31st July, the feast of the Tolga Icon of the Mother of God.
THE ROOFING FUND presently stands at approx. £41,240, leaving us with a re-adjusted (see above) shortfall of £14,500, plus a further £4,000 for replacing security system, etc. - so, £18,500. Our thanks to all those of you, who, in various ways, have joined the Duke of Edinburgh in helping us in this past month. God’s blessing ever be upon you. We have negotiated the possibility of a loan from the Charities Aid Foundation Bank Ltd in case there is still a shortfall when we have to settle accounts, but there will be a charge (£500) for accessing this facility and, of course, we shall have to pay interest on any loan. We therefore urge you to give as generously as you can before the end of September, to minimise these additional expenditures.
U.S.A. DOLLARS CHEQUES
A REQUEST to subscribers and donors sending us dollars cheques (checks!): please make them payable to Saint Edward Brotherhood. Recently the bank refused to negotiate one made out to the magazine.
The usual sections, which we have had to omit in this issue because of lack of space, will, D.V., be continued in our next issue.
PRACTICAL TIP
If you are not sure about anything in your Orthodox church life, then ask, but be sure that you ask someone who is able to answer, and not simply rely on the uninformed opinion. Conversely, if a friend asks you anything and you are not able to answer them, rather than concocting something, refer them to someone more experienced.
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