Kenilworth church team launch campaign to raise £300,000 to help church better serve community

The team at a church in Kenilworth are endeavouring to raise £300,000 to help better serve their community.
Some of the members of crafts and arts groups at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.Some of the members of crafts and arts groups at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.
Some of the members of crafts and arts groups at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.

Last Saturday (March 30) the team at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church launched their fundraising campaign ‘Dare to Dream 2’ at their Easter egg coffee morning.

The team are looking to raise £300,000 to help modernise the church to better suit the needs of the community.

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Anne Gilmore, church secretary, said: “We have decided to remove all the pews in the church, replace them with chairs and revamp the church and back buildings.

Some of the members of crafts and arts groups at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.Some of the members of crafts and arts groups at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.
Some of the members of crafts and arts groups at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church.

“We want to make the space more flexible and it would be a larger space to use. We would also look at a glass porch area indoors, adding a disabled toilet and a kitchen area and the premises at the back also need revamping.

“The buildings at the back are almost always fully booked so this would help provide a larger space for us and community groups.

“We want to make it a more usable space for the community and a more viable space. This would also enable us to help reach out more into the community.

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“We will be holding a number of fundraising event throughout the year. We are looking to raise £300,000 and do development work in stages.

George Jones, church leader, said: “The church needs to be more accessible for the community and ourselves. We need to bring the church, which is 200 years old, back to use.

“In terms of the pew cushions, over generations people have made cushions, putting family names and anniversary dates on them.

“We are looking at having an exhibition of them later in the year and we are trying to think of a way we can display them. We are trying to retain history links as well as modernising.

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“We are also looking get a ramp out by the back buildings. It’s all about making the church more accessible so people can use all the facilities.

“We need something flexible, with weddings there is no central isle – we have two side isles – so by removing the pews it would be more accessible.

“Our church is opposite Abbey Fields and there’s a lot going on over there – it’s the second biggest tourist attraction in the town after the castle.

“We want to be seen to be open and out to offer things like tea and coffee on a more regular basis. Like with events like the Two Castles Run, we would like to be out giving refreshments. We don’t just want to be seen as people who collect money.”

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The team at Abbey Hill United Reformed Church are looking to raise a total of £300,000 for the modernisation project. So far they have around £20,000.

If anyone would like to make a donation they can contact Anne Gilmore, church secretary, on: 01926 855586

To help with their fundraising the team have created an ‘Easy Fundraising’ link whereby people shopping online through ‘Easy Fundraising’ with certain retailers can earn a percentage for the cause with their purchases.

To sign up for the church’s cause click hereTo keep up to date with church events click here