St Gabriel’s – Recent Projects
Some very noticeable work has taken place at St Gabriel’s in recent months:
The toilets have been refurbished thank to Alison and Michelle and their team of fund raisers, generous donors and grant providers.The storm damaged tower roof has been renewed thanks to our insurers, Ecclesiastical.The church has been rewired and inefficient 300 watt light fittings replaced with LED light fittings. Again we had generous donations and grants and have used the remainder of the Rudge Legacy.In the middle of all this we discovered that water was coming into the North West porch (aka the flower cupboard). What at first seemed to be a straightforward repair grew into major works costing £22,000. Fortunately Northumbria Historic Churches Trust provided us with another grant. They had supported the toilets and the lighting.
But we were still struggling with cash flow. A list of grant providers caught our eye and this included the National Churches Trust.
We are pleased to say that they have accepted our application set aside a grant of £4,000 pounds for us subject to us providing a Building Maintenance Plan as well as publically acknowledging their offer.
They too rely on voluntary support and donations. You will find more information at https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/friends
Robin Long
May 2024