GOODNEWS

We have raised and spent the £180,000 required to finish the necessary repairs to the Church building.



The money has been raised through the kindness of the people of Dronfield and the surrounding area, together with vital donations from generous agencies including National Churches Trust (formerly Historic Churches Preservation Trust), All Churches Trust Ltd. (owners of The Ecclesiastical Insurance Group), Derbyshire Environmental Trust (who distribute grants in Derbyshire on behalf of Viridor Credits), Derbyshire Churches and Chapels Preservation Trust (who distribute grants in Derbyshire on behalf of Wren), Rentokil Pest Control Leeds, The Veneziana Fund, Jill Franklin Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, the Duke Of Devonshire 1949 Charitable Trust.

Thank you to all those who have already responded to our appeal.

It was back in December 2005 that we launched our appeal to put St John’s Church on a firm footing for the future. Over that period we have come a long way and raised the money that we need to complete Phase 1 of our project, the putting of the structure of the building in good order for a new century.

How was the money raised?
Since we began the appeal with a £40,000 priming of the pump from our church reserves, we have raised more than £140,000.. Thank you to all those who have played their part. Cakes have been made, concerts performed, bikes ridden, a tower descended and praises sung.

There was a Music Hall Event, a Bar-b-que, and an Arts Competition. Talents have been offered, Smartie tubes filled with coins, walks have been sponsored, teddy bears have been dropped and a host of other imaginative fund-raising activities have taken place. On top of all this hundreds of people have simply put their hands deep in their pockets and given their hard earned money. It all shows what an extraordinary amount of goodwill there in is our community for St John’s Church that so many people want to support it.

Phase 2
In our original Appeal Brochure we spelled out our intention to move on to make the church more accessible for the future. This will involve:

  • Removal of the present pews in the nave
  • Installing under-floor heating
  • Providing comfortable and movable seating
  • Improved kitchen facilities
  • Disabled access and toilet facilities.
The Church Council is now actively considering how this is to be out into practice so that once the repairs are completed we can have moved on with the planning and fund-raising for the second part of our project.