Despite very little notice, on Saturday 5th April around 50 people plus dogs and even two ponies popped in for coffee and homemade cake on a gloriously sunny day.Thanks to very generous donations, £340 was raised for the church fundraising campaign.
A smart new sign has been put up outside Holy Trinity in a prominent roadside position with the objective of raising awareness of its vulnerability and encouraging donations to the repairs fund. We are very grateful to The Michelle Sheppard Practice Ltd for securing the sign for us: thank you Michelle.
On Saturday 1st March 2025, breakfast was served all morning in East Grimstead's Reading Room. We were treated to a feast of full English, pancakes, Welsh cakes, croissants, pancakes, yoghurt, fruit and berries.Thanks to the phenomenal support of the village plus friends from West Dean, Farley and West Grimstead, this delightful event raised just over £900 which is an amazing start to the Save Our Church fundraising campaign.The committee is so grateful to head chef John Belk plus his sous-chefs, waitresses and washer-uppers: thank you to everyone involved.
A village meeting on 10 January 2025 revealed that the future of Holy Trinity is now hanging by a thread. Discussions have taken place with Salisbury Diocese to consider the process of closure. This will take roughly a year and result in the church being sold and converted into a house or business, or even demolished.The problem is lack of money. All the reserves have been spent and there is a long list of repair projects. At least £10K needs to be found to keep the church open in the short term.The immediate response to this shocking news was to establish a 'Save Our Church' committee: James M (Chair); Graham; Alison; Mary; Steve; Michelle; Gill; Tina; Rosie and Dave are now working together to raise enough money to keep Holy Trinity open in the short term and consider how to safeguard its future.
