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A
New Initiative for the Town |
We have had fun
at church this week with restoration work in the Chancel as
3 windows have been restored. A very young workforce has
worked immensely hard repairing broken glass and replacing
all the lead, and the end result is spectacular.
Having knelt
looking at these dreary Victorian windows for almost 9 years
as I say my prayers, I was delighted by the new windows. The
cost has been about £21,000 but frankly it was well worth
it. Many may question spending such a large sum of money on
a church in difficult days for the nation. Could not the
money have been spent elsewhere?
Firstly the
windows were about to fall out and a windowless church which
faces the North Sea is not really that good in the winter
months.
But secondly
this restoration is all part of our belief in what we do. We
believe that the church is an important place with the
community for peace and quiet, for prayer, for coming
together, for all ages to meet one another in a safe
environment. The number of votive candles that are lit each
day tells you how many people come in and we estimate that
50,000 people visit Fakenham Parish Church each year
culminating in the Christmas Tree Festival in December. The
Festival begins on December 2nd! Don’t miss it.
Also we believe that the church should commission works of
art, encourage all ages, provide local employment where it
can, and generally help the community.
In the Great
Depression in 1930’s Holkham Hall’s wall was built around
the estate to help the unemployed and fund families before
the days of Social Security. Without this work many would
have died. Today we may well be facing equally trying times
when people are far less equipped to help themselves, grow
their own food and cook their own food. A child knows how a
computer works, but ask the same child how to grow a cabbage
or make a cake, and you would have a blank reply.
How can the
church help? I see the church as a stabilising influence on
a community and we have set about 6 suggestions which will
go to the July Church Council meeting for approval so as to
help the town survive this down turn in the economy
The Bishop Lynn
was very enthused when he read the suggestions which include
using local firms on the church restoration, having free
entry to occasions and supporting local projects with
funding, and he emailed saying,
‘Very many
thanks for giving me sight of your new initiatives. This
seems to me to be a generous and worthwhile response to
local need in difficult
times.’
As a church we
cannot sit by and watch people suffer as we did sadly during
the last major depression. Other churches did far better
than the Church of England. This time we will show active
compassion.
Adrian Bell
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