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Home > Friends
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The Friends of St. Werburgh.
The Parish Church of St. Werburgh, Hoo, was built just after the Doomsday
Book was written and has always been a centre of Village Life. The building is
far more than a religious meeting place; it is an integral part of the history
of the Village. The Church has always offered and continues to offer a warm
welcome to people of all denominations.
It is appreciated that each successive Parochial Church Council are only
temporary custodians with a duty to keep the building in good repair and open
for worship. The PCC have an extremely limited income derived solely from
donations and planned giving by members of the congregation. Supplemented by
funds raised from Bazaars and Fairs, this income is barely sufficient to meet
the day to day running expenses, to say nothing of capital expenditure required
for the continual programme of essential repairs to the Church fabric, together
with other projects and necessary items.
Since the bulk of the income obtained by the Parochial Church Council is
devoted to the maintenance of Church services, insurance and clergy expenses
etc., it was felt that a completely new body should be founded, which would be
devoted solely to the maintenance and preservation of the Parish Church.
This body is called The Friends of St. Werburgh and was set up 25 years ago
with the intention that the Association would be a cultural, historical and
friendly society, aiding but not directly involved with the spiritual work of
the Parish. It was hoped in this way to interest residents of the Parish who,
while perhaps not active members of the Church congregation, would not wish to
see the heritage of the Parish Church destroyed.
The Friends currently have 126 members who each pay £2 per year
subscription. We hold many fund raising events throughout the year, i.e. day
outings, garden parties, harvest supper and shopping trips etc. All money raised
by these events and the subscriptions are channelled into projects concerning
our Church. Recent projects include a new carpet, toilet and kitchen facilities,
replacing worn or outdated hymnbooks, providing new furnishings etc., all of
which cannot be financed by the Church due to limited finances.
The Friends have recently commissioned a Lapel Badge depicting a white goose,
which can be purchased for £2 to indicate that one is a "Friend of St.
Werburgh."
If you would like to join the Friends of St.Werburgh and help preserve the
local heritage of our parish church, membership forms and further information
can be obtained from Mrs Pat Pritchard on 01634-251551.
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