At long last our summer appears to have arrived, providing ample opportunities to enjoy long summer days with glasses of bubbly and sizzling barbecues. Sounds good doesn't it? Unfortunately, other things can and do interrupt this glorious picture such as gardening and keeping gardens in check - the life of a churchyard is no exception. St James' Church is blessed to have a few acres of green space which sadly is rapidly becoming rarer in our world.
It is with regret that the fantastic and very well received assistance provided by the Community Payback (Crown Prosecution Service) teams will no longer be able to help us out. This really is a huge disappointment to the community of St James' Church. We have always been so grateful for the help they have provided over these last 8 years. They have also very kindly helped with decorating the Parish Hall.
We have estimated that the total cost for bringing in a professional organisation to be at least £8000 per annum or more! This sum obviously would be unsustainable for St James' Church. Therefore, we have two possible options:
The first option would involve bringing on board many more willing working party volunteers which would involve not just weeding but mowing large areas of grass on uneven ground and using powerful brushcutters (strimmers). Although the working parties who have volunteered in the past have done wonderful work and passers-by always admire it, many of the current working parties are of a senior demographic and cannot be continually asked to take on this hard work. We really need younger volunteer teams. If you would like to offer yourself or you know someone who may be interested in being a volunteer please contact Mike Lightfoot (one of our churchwardens) on 07787421357.
The second option which is being considered involves bringing on board sponsors who may be interested. We realise that commercial sponsorship is not always seen as the "done thing" as far as religious places go - but there does not seem to be many other options open.
We really would value any other options or ideas which you could bring to the table.
Going forward, we do ask that until a more permanent solution is found that you bear with us if the churchyard sometimes may look in need of a tidy.
Thankyou.
Church Wardens