Clergy Corner

Clergy Corner

This page was last updated on Saturday, February 5, 2005

June 2004

I hope that by now you have noticed that we are about to launch a major appeal for the final funds we need for the restoration and development of St Alban's.

The LAUNCH WEEKEND for the Appeal is JUNE 19th-20th, which happens to be the Patronal Festival of St Alban.

I have had a lot of time over the past year or so, while completing application forms and talking to architects and grant providers, to think about what our church buildings mean to me.

We have two marvellous buildings in St Mary's and St Alban's - both wonderful to worship in, both very different in character and style.

These buildings cost us a lot of money to maintain - are they worth it?

We have inherited these buildings. Whether we want them or not, we have them, and we are stewards of them.

The buildings are wonderful opportunities to speak about God. Can we learn something about the nature of God by coming into these sacred spaces, set aside for worship?

They speak to the world around - many people who don’t regularly attend Church nevertheless like to go into Church buildings for quiet, contemplation and prayer.

They can be a sign that God is at work in our world - if our Churches are places of welcome and community, they can be powerful witnesses to all that is best in the Christian faith.

So, there is considerable cost in maintaining our buildings, and if we were to start from scratch, we might build them differently now, and in different places, and with other congregations in the area.

But we have the buildings we have, and I am convinced that we have to make the most of them, to the glory to God, for the good of his people, and for the furtherance of the Kingdom.

That is my hope for the St Alban's Appeal, and why I have felt it important to give so much time to the appeal over the past few months. I hope you will agree, and support both the Launch weekend, and the Appeal.

Gary Philbrick