The Steeple Fund

You are going to read and hear the above words a lot, over the coming months, as we at St Stephen's & West gear up for our toughest ever challenge: to raise sufficient funds to recoup the cost of restoring our church after last year's lightning strike. As you will have seen in Jim Roy's letter, our share is estimated at £122,800, a daunting figure indeed.

So much for the bad news. The good news is that the restoration work is proceeding apace. Within weeks the kirk will shed its exoskeleton of scaffolding to reveal the newly tiled spire in all its glory. It will not merely be good as before, but better.

The builders, and our property experts Ron and Bob, have carried out their part with skill and dedication, despite one of the coldest winters in living memory. Now it's our turn. Can we rebuild the depleted church funds?

Since the Board's decision in January to launch an appeal, there has been much activity on the money raising theme, with offers of help and suggestions coming from all sides. Several events are already at an advanced stage of development, with quite a few others in the pipeline. These include a Cake & Candy stall at the Barnhill Rock Garden Gala Day on July 9 and hopefully the Broughty Ferry Gala Day on July 3 at the Castle Green; an offer from Marks & Spencer to allow a bag-packing team at their checkouts, plus permission to run a pavement bookstall outside their Broughty Ferry store; a concert by our own Ferryatrics in the Hall on Wednesday, October 12 and the possibility of a show from the Strathspey & Reel Society later in the year.

These are only some of the events to look forward to, and full details will be available nearer the time via the Magazine, Facebook and Website, plus the weekly order of service sheet. Can we count on your support?

Should you wish to contribute to the Steeple Fund directly, simply make out a cheque to St Stephen's & West Church, mark the envelope Steeple Appeal Fund, and hand it to the Treasurer or any Board member.

As convener of the Appeal Fund, I would like to thank all those members who have come forward with ideas and offers of assistance. New ideas are always welcome, and can be passed on to any of our committee, namely Sybil Rough, Jill Oakley, John Grieve, Hazel or me.

As you can see below, our mascot, Jack Steeple, has begun his climb already, boosted by members' generous donations totalling £483.20 at the Soup and Sandwich Lunch on Sunday February 20.
Let s keep him on the move! 

Norman Allan