May I encourage you to attend this Sunday’s Evening Service at 3pm if only to support Nathan, one of our new organists!

As you know already, we now have a faculty for the removal of our defunct pipe organ and intend to remove it on 8 July.

As far as a replacement organ is concerned things have moved on apace as I indicated in my last email.  The PCC originally planned on trying to raise £15K for a good quality, used/ex demo electronic organ.  That said, the PCC was concerned that we would be facing a substantial gap in decent music provision while we raised the funds and that we might not have an organist even when a new organ was in place.  As if to prove the latter point David Crocker, our loyal organist of many years standing, has passed in the interim, however superb efforts by Helen Sims and Janet Sturmer have identified two willing volunteers to take over which is a great relief.  As far as raising the money goes we received a surprise offer of a good quality second hand instrument which was too good to miss at £8200, a saving of c£7000 on the original plan.  The PCC took the view that  as a small church and congregation the offer met our musical needs at a price we could just afford.

Clearly, we have ended up with the cart very definitely before the horse and will be drawing on reserves to take advantage of the offer.  We planned to stump up £5000 to get the fundraising ball rolling in any case, so raising another £3200 should be manageable.  Very generous donors have already contributed to closing the gap for which we are enormously grateful.  If any of you would like to make a contribution, however small, do get in touch with me.

Finally, remember that the Annual Sheepdog Trials are taking place on 23 August at Playing Field on Plasterdown.