Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary,

My apologies for the delay in last week’s Newsletter being sent out – it got stuck in my outbox!

Anyway, please find attached this week’s Benefice Newsletter for Sunday and the associated documents. 

As usual the details of the Benefice online services for this Sunday can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/shrivenhamandashbury/.  

For information (and possibly action) – you should be aware that the trustees for the Longcot Village Trust (and in particular Keith Reid) have been hard at work preparing for the building work to take place in St Mary from the beginning of June.  The improvements to the church will include an internal oak framed mezzanine structure with a staircase leading to a gallery at the west end of the Nave. This will provide ample storage and a partially glazed open meeting room which will overlook both the bell tower and the Nave. On the ground floor, a kitchenette, a private meeting room and a disabled toilet facility with baby changing will be installed. Work will also include updating the heating and lighting systems to reduce carbon footprint, installing super-fast broadband access and a new, distributed IT and sound system. External pathways will also be provided to create easier access for the elderly and disabled.

We have already raised a sum of £150,000 but we would love for you to make a donation to help us reach the £190,000 we need to complete the project.  The Trust has now set up a GoFundMe page to try and raise the final £40,000. How about it?  Here is the link to the GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/c50aa054

Best Wishes,

Dennis

Church Warden St Mary The Virgin, Longcot