The Parish Church of St. Peter
West St Lilley

Dear Parishioner

We are sending this appeal to every household which is within the parish boundary of St. Peter's Church; one of the finest buildings in the area with Grade II listed status.

Our Church is not only used for regular worship every Sunday and on special occasions (including Harvest Thanksgiving and the Christmas Carol Service) but is here for all within our parish for those great life events like baptisms, weddings and funerals. We also have many friends from outside the village who worship with us, support us in many ways and often get married in our beautiful surroundings.

Every year St. Peter's must find about £14,000 to send to the Diocese to pay for the Church of England's operating expenses. This amount does not cover any of our local costs or what we need to maintain the church building. These expenses have to come from donations, gifts and the bequests of parishioners and friends. It currently costs us—without major repairs—nearly £50.00 a day to keep the church running.

Our fund-raising activities (such as the Flower Festival and Concerts) have, to date, been used to sustain our Fabric Fund—the resources of which keep the building in good repair. We have, so far, succeeded in doing this but the costs are ongoing, expensive and always increasing. Unfortunately we, unlike some churches, do not have any Trust Fund or historic source of wealth to draw upon.

We are fortunate to have a small group of volunteers (more would be most welcome) who keep St. Peter's Church a living and active part of the life of Lilley village. However, without enough funding we may not be able to sustain this in the future and closure of the Church would be an awful option to consider.

If you feel that the survival of this historic church is important we invite you to make a donation of any size, large or small—which will be most gratefully received. This could be a one-off or a regular donation. Anything you give would be completely confidential.

Revd Terrance Bell Priest-in-Charge
Revd Adrian Hinksman Assistant Priest
Geoffrey Mercer, Beryl Rowe Churchwardens

 

To Donate to St Peters:

 

Please make cheques payable to "St Peters, Lilley PCC"

 

Post to:

St. Peters Appeal,

The Lawns,

Green Acres,

Lilley,

Hertfordshire

LU2 8LS

 

If you usually pay UK income tax we may reclaim this amount as Gift Aid from the treasury, please enclose your Full name, address and postcode with your usual signature with your donation.