The are a number of ways in which our Parish supports local and Catholic charities.
PARISH RENOVATION APPEAL Our parish church of St Laurence was provided by Mr Laurence Cave for the benefit of the Catholics in this area 130 years ago. It is a Grade 2 listed building of special architectural interest and of national importance, and something of a landmark in Petersfield. Earlier generations have passed on this ‘spiritual home’ to us; let us now provide for future generations.
Many of you will remember that the dome was re-covered with copper in 2011. The inside of the dome was painted at the same time and looks magnificent. Many parishioners have asked about decorating the rest of the church. There is much work to be done: some of it is urgent (Phase 1) and some less so (Phase 2).
The Diocesan Trustees have strictly limited parish expenditure, because in the present circumstances 80 of 91 parishes were in deficit last year and this is likely to continue for some time. However the Trustees have accepted that works described in Phase 1 are urgent and have agreed the expenditure for this. Phase 2 will have to wait and this will give us time to raise the funds.
Please note that the regular maintenance and repairs will continue subject to expenditure restrictions by the Diocesan Trustees. There are also still some works to be completed at St Agnes Church to provide for full disability access. More details are available here but a brief summary:
Phase 1 – Exterior (expected to cost about £140,000)
Exterior repairs to roofs, brickwork and guttering. There are several areas where rainwater is coming into the church, church hall and the presbytery.
Phase 2 – Internal (expected to cost about £210,000)
A screen to repalce the current lobby at the entrance, redecoration and lighting, heating refurbishment, repairs to the flooring and push button opening doors to improve disabled access.
We need to raise an additional £50,000 a year for the next three years and there are two ways to make a contribution:
- For occasional or one off payments please enclose your donation in an envelope marked “Appeal” and place on the collection.
- If you are able to give regularly then sign up to a specific standing order so we can ring fence your contribution.
Don’t forget including Gift Aid adds 25% to your donation if you are a tax payer so for advice on this or standing orders please contact Sandy Sullivan – details below.
Parish Gift Aid
Sandy Sullivan, our Parish Gift Aid Organiser, encourages our Parishioners to use the scheme wherever possible. By using Gift Aid all taxpaying parishioners can increase their giving by 25% at no cost to themselves. The parish gains an extra annual income of around £10,000 by use of this scheme so to find out more contact Sandy using the form below. Alternatives you can find general information here or complete a gift_aid_form to return to the Parish Office to register.
You can also donate through Give As You Live.
Local charities
We also support the Kings Arms , a club for local young people between 11-19 years.
To contribute to our food bank …
Special Collections
We also take a number of special collections through the year for a variety of good causes such as CAFOD Family Fast Day, the Apostleship of the Sea, and vocations. See the weekly newsletter for details.