The churchyards around our churches are an important part of the Church’s mission since they provide a pleasant, welcoming environment in which to remember our loved ones. All our Parochial Church Councils are very grateful for the hard work of the many volunteers who look after our churchyards year after year, Helping to care for our loved ones’ graves is an important part of making and keeping our churchyards a pleasant place to visit. It is therefore very important to ensure that they are maintained in good order as befits a final resting place for the departed and so as to preserve their historical, archaeological, architectural and ecological qualities. Throughout the country, every diocese has churchyard regulations These regulations seek to enhance and protect all that is loved within our churchyards and to protect them from harm and are binding on all parties. The day to day care of a churchyard is the legal responsibility of a PCC. Therefore it is important to contact the Team Rector – The Revd Liz Palin – to get agreement to any work to be done other than cutting the grass on and around a loved one’s grave before it takes place. Contact details Team Rector: The Revd Liz Palin rectorstroudwater@gmail.com or 01452 741147 Churchwardens: Jane Cleaver, Fretherne.church@gmail.com or 01452 740891
The shock experienced by all English churches of the stopping of all in-person fund-raising in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic created many problems and meant that different ways were considered to help raise funds.Luckily for us we could take advantage of a community Lottery, the Lucky Severn Lottery, set up by Stroud District Council to help raise funds for good causes in the District area.As we have registered for a dedicated page, we receive 50p for every £1 ticket bought from our page, 10p goes in the general good causes fund, and 40p goes towards the prize money and administration. The top prize is £25,000! Since joining in March 2020 we have managed to sell enough tickets to raise over £2,000 thanks to the generosity of our regular ticker buyers.It is all done by on-line purchasing so tickets can be purchased from anywhere in the country. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">The direct link to our dedicated page is </span>https://www.luckysevernlottery.co.uk/support/fretherne-st-marys-churchThank-you for helping us raise much needed funds.Good-luck!
