NEWSLETTER Sunday 19th August 2012
St. Clement’s Church in Crisis.
Over the last 20 years under the guidance of the Churchwardens, (the 17th and 18th Earls of Devon, Gordon Mortimer and John Thompson), the trustees with the generous supporters of St. Clement’s have fought to prevent this icon of the English landscape falling into decay. Of the £100,000 spent restoring the church during this time only £20,000 has come from grants, the remainder from those who have attended the fund raising events and have given so generously.
The coffers are now empty and so this letter is addressed to those living in the parish of Powderham and the faithful congregation who meet at St. Clement’s each week. The Parochial Church Council, as trustees, are now appealing to you to ask you to help them maintain this historic village building so that it will be there for the next generation.
With an average congregation of 26 the day to day running cost of the church is £3 per person per week. On top of this the diocese asks for a further contribution of £9.50 per person per week to go towards the salary of our Priest-in-Charge, John Williams, plus the pensions of the retired priests that conduct our services. These figures apply to each member each week whether they attend the service or not. This is a large amount of cash for each member of the congregation to find in these difficult times and does not include the cost of any building maintenance.
To help St. Clement’s finances get back on their feet it is intended to have a couple of gift week-ends.
On Saturday 1st September, the church will be open to visitors from 10am until 4pm and cream teas will be available throughout this time. There will be a guided tour at 2.30pm.
On Saturday 8th September, on what will be National Heritage Open Day and the Devon Historic Churches Trust Day, the church will be open between 10am and 2pm. There will also be there will be a sponsored bike ride and anyone wishing to participate should contact Jennifer Rowland 01626 891970 before the 5th September for details and sponsorship forms.
On Sunday the 9th September, the 11 o’clock service of matins conducted by Canon Colin Evans, will be an opportunity to give generously and the trustees would ask all those who can attend, and those that can’t, to dig deeply into their pockets to help St. Clement’s at this time of crisis.
Any gift that you make on these special week ends will go towards paying for the work on the east window which has just been restored at a cost of £10,000. (If you are able to make your gift using “Gift Aid” then every £1 that you give will be increased by a £0.25 refund from the government, so please indicate this if you are able to do so.)
Cheques should be made payable to “Powderham Church P.C.C.” and put in the collection, given to one of the Churchwardens or sent directly to the Hon. Treasurer, Mrs. P. Maguire, By Ways, Kenton EX6 8NE.
Powderham Church 