. . . Your Donations, Renovations and Future Plans
Firstly, many of you may not be aware that, for some months now this website, although maintained by Belstone Village Hall, is the online presence for the churches of St Mary’s Belstone with Sticklepath, as well as Belstone Parish Council, so updates on the progress of fundraising, refurbishment and events taking place can be found on this website.
St Mary’s Belstone and St Mary’s Sticklepath are ‘sister’ churches and, while each of the two villages maintain their own church, we are one Parochial Church Council, which meets about 4 times a year to discuss general Church matters, progress of maintenance and upkeep of our two churches.
Thank you to all who have become ‘Friends of St Mary’s Belstone’ or ‘Friends of St Mary’s Sticklepath’
St Mary’s Belstone:
It was agreed some time ago that the residents of Belstone very much wanted to keep our beautiful historic building, which is very much part of our village, so a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part in our fundraising, so far. We hope that it will enable use of the church to hold events other than church services and also be a quiet space for parishioners and visitors to use, if they wish.
Permission has to be gained, before making any changes to the building or churchyard and we have needed to apply for grants, in order to afford the costs of necessary work. However, as you will see from the photos below, we are now making good progress.
Our original campaign of “Cash for Khazi” enabled us to provide a toilet for the church, which is available for use by the general public, while the church is open each day.
Phase 2 is now complete with windows repaired, the outside altar wall repointed, lead work, window replaced and new, more effective lighting, some of which responds automatically to the main door being opened – thus avoiding entering a dark church, and enabling visitors time to find light switches. Permission is now being asked for removal of the chimney, possible addition of solar panels, plus lots of reorganisation inside.
The new bell ropes have arrived so, again, many thanks to everybody who helped fund this major expense. Hopefully, these will be put up soon and the bells will sound out again safely. You will also find a card machine, just inside the church door,so that donations can be made by card, if you prefer. Cash can still be put into the slot on the wall.
Look out for letters from our Treasurer (which will also be posted on this website) for ways that you can help us to preserve our church building.
Advance Notice: An open day is being planned for 26th October (with refreshments) to enable everyone to view and discuss the current renovations and future plans – so look out for posters and website posts!
St Mary’s Sticklepath:
For those of you who haven’t seen the renovations inside the church and displays of Sticklepath’s history, it’s well worth a visit. Do check out the forthcoming events below:-
Sunday 22nd September, 3pm at St Mary’s Sticklepath.
An afternoon performance with Jim Causley, with tea and cake! Tickets £12.00
01837 840822
Saturday 5th October, Sticklepath Village Hall Quiz Night. £10 teams of 4, 7.30pm. Please book your team with Niki Wooldridge on 01837 840876. All proceeds towards St Mary’s Sticklepath.
Sunday 6th October, 5pm St Mary’s Church Sticklepath.
A special Pet Memorial Service, remembering our pet companions. Please see posters for further details or telephone 01837 840822.
See also – poster at the end of this post, showing dates of discussions on topics of current interest.
Church of St Mary’s Belstone With Sticklepath
