News and Upcoming Events
THANK YOU CHRISTINE AND GORDON!
Christine and Gordon Tucker have kindly been locking the church regularly for some years but are now moving away to their new home. They tell me that they have really enjoyed doing this but we do want to say to them a very big THANK YOU! and for the other ways too they contributed to our Church and Parish. We also hope they have a really lovely time in their next Chapter of Life; bless you both!
This does, though, mean we have been looking to find one or two people willing to take on this task. We are very fortunate that Roger and Judy kindly unlock each morning, so it is simply locking up sometime after 5pm most days. On Wednesdays, the ringers lock and when there is a Choir Practice on a Friday or Evensong on a Sunday, others do this. Please, if you feel you can help – perhaps just going on a rota for it – let Sarah Welton or me know. In anticipation, thank you! Charles
Bere Regis Church Summer Fete
Made £832.85!
Congratulations and Thank You, everyone!
Songs of Praise at Bere Regis Church
11am Sunday 25 June
You came and sang your favourite hymns
Celebrated our Saint (St. John The Baptist), our parish and ourselves!
A thank-you to everyone who makes our village special
You Raised your voices and enjoyed coffee and cake!
Look out for the next one!
FROM THE REGISTERS
Baptisms
At St John the Baptist, Bere Regis
On 28th May – Francesca Louise Mooney
and Abigail Florence Mooney
On 2nd July – Stanley David Norman
On 16th July – Harlee Elizabeth Leamon
On 16th July - Michael Davies
Sophie Davies
Funeral
At St John the Baptist, Bere Regis
On 29th June – Lynn Fancy
Burial of Ashes
At St John the Baptist, Bere Regis
On 18th July – Judith Wood-Dow (nee Goldie)
Food Banks
Food Bank – Update!
Usually every two months we hand over about five carrier bags full of your gifts to the Food Bank. In April there were ten bags – so thank you from the people who were very grateful....and please keep them coming!
There are boxes in both our churches for you to place any goods you would like to donate. This provides a simple way of helping people who have fallen on hard times.
I would ask: Please ensure that your gifts are at least 6 months in date.
You do not have to be a church member to contribute!
The boxes are emptied regularly
and the contents given to the Wareham Food Bank.
The list of what is most appropriate is:
Tinned Soup Fruit Juice(carton) Pasta Sauces Baked Beans Rice/Sponge Pudding (Tinned)
Tomatoes (Tinned) Pasta/Rice (1kg) Tinned Vegetables Tea Bags/Coffee Instant Mash Potato
Tinned Meat/Fish Tinned Fruit Sugar (500g) Biscuits or snack bars
The FOOD BANK provides for local individuals and families in crisis -
Thank you for your support!
Every two months we have been able to hand over about five carrier bags full of your gifts to the Food Bank people who were very grateful....so please keep them coming! At Harvest there were many bags.
There are boxes in both our churches for you to place any goods you would like to donate. This provides a simple way of helping people who have fallen on hard times.
I would ask: Please ensure that your gifts are at least 6 months in date.
You do not have to be a church member to contribute!
The boxes are emptied regularly
and the contents given to the Wareham Food Bank.
The list of what is most appropriate is:
Tinned Soup Fruit Juice(carton) Pasta Sauces Baked Beans Rice/Sponge Pudding (Tinned)
Tomatoes (Tinned) Pasta/Rice (1kg) Tinned Vegetables Tea Bags/Coffee Instant Mash Potato
Tinned Meat/Fish Tinned Fruit Sugar (500g) Biscuits or snack bars
The FOOD BANK provides for local individuals and families in crisis -
Thank you for your support!
Mission Apostle - Bere Regis Church Roof Project
GREAT NEWS!We are so delighted to be able to tell you that Viridor Credits have recently granted us £100,000 towards our Mission Apostle/ Roof Repair Project. This is great news and means that we are nearing having enough financial resources to start the repair work on the roof of the Parish Church. Yes, we still have a little way to go but this is a wonderful boost to our Project.We are also very grateful to two other charities, Dorset Historic Churches Trust who granted us £10,000 and the Erskine Mouton Trust who granted £25,000. These are both far in excess of their usual grants.
Finally of course there have been many local private donations and fund-raising activities and, as the Church Council, we are indeed indebted to you and very grateful. Please help us with the ‘final push’.....we simply need another £15,000!
Repairing the ravages of time
It was built by the Normans, embellished in the Middle Ages, survived Henry VIII, the Roundheads and two world wars.
But age, weather and thinning lead is catching up fast.
The most recent survey of our Parish Church has shown that the lead roof over the nave of the church is coming to the end of its useful life. It has served us well over 100 years or more, but, despite assiduous care and repairs over the years, lead wears out and it is now no longer even able to be patched. It needs to be replaced.
It is, of course, not just a matter of replacing the roof. Much more importantly, it is about preserving our magnificent medieval carved roof, and indeed, ensuring our lovely church continues to be available and accessible to all; accessible not just for regular worship, and for all those important rites of passage, such as christenings, weddings and funerals but also for celebrating and commemorating the great national occasions.
It is estimated that repairing the roof, thus safeguarding our church, will cost in the region of £200,000.
We may be able to reduce that sum by obtaining a VAT refund, but we will still need to find a considerable amount. There is little or no money available from Church of England sources, so it is down to us and to fundraising.
We have a fundraising plan, which is already demonstrating some significant successes. We are undertaking 3 strands of activity:
Strand 1 is to apply for funding from grant making trusts and foundations. We have already received £10,000 from a trust fund and we have an application going in to Viridor Credits Environmental Company shortly. We anticipate the majority of our funding will come from trusts.
Strand 2 is to seek donations from Bere Regis residents. In due course we hope to contact every adult in every household in the Parish. In the meantime we are delighted to say that some early personal approaches have already resulted in £12,500 in gifts and a very generous legacy.
Strand 3 is to arrange through the summer a variety of fundraising events and activities which we hope will be generously supported.
It is very important when applying to trust funds to demonstrate that there is considerable local support for the project. It is therefore hugely encouraging that we can say that we already have some £72,000 given or pledged towards our target. We will still need every bit of generous help and commitment we can call on to raise the balance of £128,000 to safeguard the future of our beautiful parish church.
If you would like to help, or make a donation, please contact Charles Masheder, our vicar, Richard Smith, the Treasurer or Ian Ventham or Judy Newton.
Charles Masheder