08/08/2024
The couple, along with the St Margaret & St Andrew's Church community in Littleham, Devon, raised £10,000 which was match funded by Give To Go Green. The £20,000 total will help pay towards the cost of installing new electric infrared heaters in parts of the church.
Driven by their passion to care for God’s creation, Roger and Susan helped to organise a series of fundraising events including a concert featuring the church’s handbell ringers; a board game morning; wood turning lessons; sailing opportunities; craft and painting sessions; a clothes swap; weekly lent lunches with homemade soup; items for sale made from recycled wool; and even a sponsored parachute jump.
Susan said: “Our fundraising campaign centred around involving everyone, and that’s why it worked so well. We focused our efforts on raising awareness of the need to go green, developing fellowship and having fun!”
The money raised will pay for electric heaters in the nave area of the church, but further fundraising is needed to pay for a ‘three phase’ electricity supply, as well as additional electric heaters in the choir and side chapel.
“Our church has, for the longest time, had gas heating powered by an ancient boiler; it’s expensive to run and the fuel is not carbon friendly,” shared Roger. “It is also difficult to use efficiently as it takes five hours to fully heat the church building. Our heating team had considered alternatives but like most churches, there was no money to spare.”
Susan added: “The new heating system, once installed, means that we will be able to heat specific areas of the church much more quickly for small gatherings like prayer mornings, meetings and our coffee mornings. It’s going to make a huge difference, but our journey isn’t over yet — our drive for net zero carbon by 2030 is set to continue after this project. We’re committed to making our churches as environmentally-friendly as possible and protecting God’s glorious creation.”
