The Yalding Church Preservation Society (YCPS) was founded by a group of ordinary non- churchgoers to secure the safety of the fabric of our Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul.
Over ten years ago the YCPS appealed to the residents of Yalding and other sympathetic supporters to raise money to avert disaster when the church tower seemed in danger. With their generous support we raised over £30,000 to help fund the necessary repairs. This was only possible because many people gave time and/or money to help achieve this.
We need now to explain that a continuous campaign is required to enable further work to be carried out. Our immediate concerns are the decorated nave ceiling with its ornate wooden bosses and the Victorian lych gate. We are hoping to provide £21,000 towards the cost of these significant structural repairs.
The congregation is smaller than it once was (though numbers have increased recently) but the costs stay the same. The members of the church work hard to raise funds themselves but they need additional help from the community as a whole. Even if all the possible grants and soft loans are achieved, it will be far beyond the capacity of the present congregation to raise the sums required.
We would therefore like everyone to join us in our conviction that we would all like to see the church remain a place of beauty and tranquillity in the heart of the village as it has been for more than seven hundred years.
To achieve this we need the support of the whole village and maybe other sympathisers from further afield in raising money and supporting the various events and activities we arrange. Regular support is particularly important as there is a continuing demand in an ancient building for maintenance and repair.
We hope we share with you, believer or unbeliever, the view that the church is your church, and that as a monument to our forebears, as a symbol of our continuity and as a focus of our future it is a thing we must preserve.
If you would like to help or donate, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Please complete the form below and please remember to follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
With best wishes from the YCPS Trustees.
ROB BIRD PETER CHAPMAN ALISON CRESWELL
CLAIRE MORRISON GAIL JOHNSON MARTIN JOHNSON TIM CHAPMAN
Yalding Church Preservation Society 