The new Church Year began on 1 September. This is an important time for us to try and put things in order and plan for the year ahead. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic our church is continuing to grow rapidly. There are many new members of the church. The church board – with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas – is urgently progressing plans to extend the church to the west to provide for our growing needs. We should have design options to share with you for your feedback this Autumn. The next step will be getting the necessary planning and listed building consents in place. After that we will be launching a local and national appeal to fund the project.
The church building is only one small part of ensuring that the work of God can be active in our community. The church also needs people with the skills and training to minister to the community, educate adults, youth and children and to make our worship fitting to God. The board is also therefore giving particular attention to training this year and encouraging our members to volunteer their time and to take a more active role in the life of the church.
Our Archdiocese is also establishing a number of programmes for training and we would like to support its work more so that it can help us with our ministry here in Shropshire
While the church continues to grow and the pressure to extend and increase the church’s ministry becomes more urgent, the last eighteen months have been difficult financially. The church’s income has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of attendance being restricted. We therefore appeal to you now to make a regular commitment to support the day-to-day running of the church.
The church relies entirely on the giving of its members to support our priest Father Stephen in his ministry and to maintain and service the church building, to educate the youth and to provide support to those in financial hardship. The church relies entirely on the generosity of its members.
We appeal to you now to make a commitment to give regularly to the church in a planned way. Most of our members give through the weekly collection basket. The collection basket served the church very well until attendance was restricted by the Pandemic. We therefore make a plea to all of our members to make a regular commitment to the church through a Standing Order or other electronic payment method. This is not to replace the collection basket but to ensure that the church can rely on a consistent and predictable supply of funds. The church can no longer rely as heavily as it has done on the collection basket which is unpredictable and was non-existent during the total lock down period.
There are many ways in which we can give regularly. These are set out in full on our Giving Page. If you would like any more information please contact our treasurer Mr Adrian Pavel treasurer[at]shrewsburyorthodox.com.