Binding church and the community together
The Friends of St Laurence's Church, Chorley, is a charitable cause and dedicated group of supporters who work to preserve the Church building, enhance it's facilities for the community and ensure it's future as an asset for Chorley. Our role is to preserve and develop this continuing symbol of our communal life. Please join with us in ensuring that St Laurence's Church continues to play a central role in the life of our town.
St Laurence's Church is a grade 2* listed building with a late medieval tower, and a number of Victorian and later additions.
If you have any stories about the Church, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact us at friends@stlaurencechorley.co.uk
St Laurence's Church is a grade 2* listed building with a late medieval tower, and a number of Victorian and later additions.
If you have any stories about the Church, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact us at friends@stlaurencechorley.co.uk
Introduction
Friends of St. Laurence's was founded in January 2019 and has since been granted charitable status; the charity number is 1186760. The objectives of the charitable trust are as follows;
In setting up the FOSL, the Parochal Church Council (PCC) recognised that the regular congregation, could not be expected to cover the costs of repairing and maintaining ancient church buildings and developing facilities to meet the expanding need for secular services on top of the day-to-day expenditure for running the parish. The FOSL strap line "Binding the Church and Community Together", expresses the objective of convincing the wider community that they have an interest in preserving these buildings do that continue to contribute to the wellbeing of local people and play an essential role in the daily life of the town. In line with this concept, FOSL funding would be used for longer term capital projects as proposed to routine building maintenance.
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Organ Roof AppealThe roof above the organ chamber is in a poor condition and if nothing is done, rainwater is likely to leak and seriously damage the organ which is over 100 years old. The cost of a replacement would be in the region of £750,000!
Our organ is an important element in the quality of our worship and a key element in our plans to develop St. Laurence's as a centre for arts and music serving the extended local community. The lowest tender for carrying out the work during the summer is £36,000 which means we need to raise £40,000 to cover contingencies. We currently have £15,000 available and we have applied to the National Churches Trust for grants of £15,000 match funding leaving a further £10,000 to be raised from corporate donations and crowd funding. The deadline for submitting our grant application is 12th May 2022. We will need to provide evidence that we have the required unsecured and secured funds to carry out the project if it is to be accepted. We therefore need to have firm commitments fro the £10,000 at the beginning of May. The gap is currently £8,000
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You can find out more about the role the organ plays in our vision for the church and full details or the project by click the button below.
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The architect’s scheme for repairing the roof of the organ chamber was put out to tender last November, the lowest bid was £36,000 excluding VAT which can be reclaimed via the Government’s Local Places of Worship scheme. After allowing for contingencies, we arrived at a budget of £40,000 for this first phase of the organ project.
Our linked appeals, corporate and crowd funding, were launched in April and by the beginning of May had raised a total of £6,910; the Parochial Church Council have provided us with a cash facility, up to £5,000, to cover any shortfall. As a result, we have sufficient secured funds to apply to the National Churches Trust for grants of £15,000, if this is successful we will be able to cover the costs of the roof repairs in late August/early September when weather conditions should still be favourable.
This is a considerable achievement for a small charitable organisation and we can now start to plan for the second phase of the project - refurbishing and upgrading the organ so that it can play a full part in achieving our musical ambitions. We are currently seeking detailed quotes for the work which can be carried out in stages, the overall cost is likely to exceed £20,000.
Our corporate and crowd funding appeals remain open and we are approaching a number of charities and public bodies who may help us raise the necessary funds, individual donations can make all the difference.
Our linked appeals, corporate and crowd funding, were launched in April and by the beginning of May had raised a total of £6,910; the Parochial Church Council have provided us with a cash facility, up to £5,000, to cover any shortfall. As a result, we have sufficient secured funds to apply to the National Churches Trust for grants of £15,000, if this is successful we will be able to cover the costs of the roof repairs in late August/early September when weather conditions should still be favourable.
This is a considerable achievement for a small charitable organisation and we can now start to plan for the second phase of the project - refurbishing and upgrading the organ so that it can play a full part in achieving our musical ambitions. We are currently seeking detailed quotes for the work which can be carried out in stages, the overall cost is likely to exceed £20,000.
Our corporate and crowd funding appeals remain open and we are approaching a number of charities and public bodies who may help us raise the necessary funds, individual donations can make all the difference.
This is a big ask for a small organisation and we need all the help we can get from friends and supporters. 500 donations of £25 would more than cover the gap. Any surplus will be applied to the next phase of the project - upgrading the organ itself.
You can contribute by clicking the button below via JustGiving.
You can contribute by clicking the button below via JustGiving.