METAL THEFT FROM ST FAITH'S
Regularly updated
reports for the congregation and online
readers
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November
25th - Back on Top!
At the PCC on Wednesday 12th November,
we were in a position to make a
resolution, passed unanimously, to
proceed with repairs to the North
Roof. This is because the numbers
do now stack up, and we can afford both
to repair the roof, and to maintain our
commitment, as an Anglican Church, to
support ministry and mission through
Parish Share. This is because the
finance for the roof comes from the
astonishingly generous offer of an
interest-free loan of £20,000 from a
member of the congregation who wishes to
remain anonymous. The Parish needs the
discipline of repaying the loan, but as
it is repaid, a proportion of it will be
tithed back to the Parish as planned
giving. The PCC unanimously
accepted this offer, and proposed a Vote
of Thanks to the anonymous congregation
member.
With the help of
the Archdeacon, the Interim Order
(i.e. the legal permission for the work
to be done) is now in place, and it will
start on Tuesday 25th November.
As the three
pictures above show, work did indeed
start on 25th November, carried out by
BBR Roofing and bringing towards an
end the saga of the roof. Before long
this page will be
consigned to the archives!
October 11th: More
Trouble on the Roof
St
Faith’s suffered further
criminal damage to the roof on
Friday 3rd October 2014.
Below is a letter from the
Priest-in-Charge to the
congregation, Sunday 5th
October 2014
Dear Friends in Christ,
On Friday, the Church
suffered another incident of
criminal damage to the roof, this
time to the North (Kingsway) side.
We know it happened
within a very small time window; the
alarm has been off during the day
whilst we have been expecting
contractors to the site. I was
at Stanfield School taking assembly
on Friday morning, and it had not
happened when I walked back at
11-30am. The gardener was
working in the Memorial Garden and
alerted me at 4pm.
It is criminal damage
this time and not theft because the
gardener and I found the lead from
the roof hidden in the bushes by the
boundary wall. It is now under
lock and key, as is the trolley the
perpetrators used.
Ecclesiastical,
our insurers, have been
informed. BBR, our excellent
contractors who have been working on
the South roof, were called out by
Robbie Bell our Architect and a
temporary repair was done on
Saturday morning. This does
not make us 100% watertight but it
affords some protection. I have also
asked Robbie Bell to get BBR to
quote for the full repair.
I
informed the Wardens and Treasurer
immediately, closely followed by the
Standing Committee and PCC, and then
the Archdeacon, as is our
obligation. Once we have
specifications for the repairs in,
the Standing Committee and then PCC
will meet to decide how to
proceed.
I
am gutted myself about this – it is
a blow, just as St Faith’s was
beginning, in so many ways, to
recover. However, we have
shown already we can get major
repairs to the building done; this
is a random, if well-planned,
criminal act, and the important
thing is what happens now. So
I am asking you to dig deep
spiritually and to remember we
continue to be God’s holy people in
this place - so let us enjoy the
patronal, and go on living out our
calling – worshipping God in
celebrating the Sacraments, saying
our prayers, loving God and loving
one another and our
neighbours. I’d like to pay
tribute to the Wardens, who have
done just that, as well as pitching
in immediately in practical ways. We
will of course keep you fully in the
picture just as soon as we know –
through bulletins like this,
announcements, and in due course the
website. Do please contact me
personally if you would like to ask
anything at all.
Meanwhile, keep St
Faith’s in your prayers –
Yours in Christ
Sue
‘So
we do not lose heart...’ (2
Corinthians 4.1)
‘We
know all things work together for
good for those who love God, who
are called according to his
purpose’ (Romans 8.28)
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September 26th: no more Singing in the Rain!
With
the church high roof done, work
continues on the porch, with the
scaffolding sheeted to deter
visitors. The main scaffold
tower has
been erected against the chancel
wall to deal with long-standing
leaks above the choir vestry
_____________________________________________________
September 17th: Progress Report
As this is being
written, the repair to the high roof
is now complete and there are
pictures elsewhere in the magazine
to prove it!
Our Architect, Robbie Bell,
inspected the work (and took the
piccies) and has pronounced it a
text book job – and quite possibly
better than what was there
before. The work on the porch
has now begun and there is more
scaffolding up.
Meanwhile, the scaffolding used for
the high roof repair will come down
soon, and reappear above the organ
loft for that repair
– which is unconnected with the
theft – to be done. Robbie
continues to keep an expert eye on
all this work for us.
The ‘slates fund’ stands at just
under £10,000 – a phenomenal amount
of generosity and effort from the
people of St Faith’s.
With the insurance payout of £5,000,
that gives us £15,000 – we are on
our way, in other words.
We still need to raise another
£10,000 for the total cost of the
repairs, so we need another push
– but things are looking very much
better than they were a couple of
months ago.
A huge thanks to all for your
generosity, commitment and
enthusiasm – we are indeed raising
the roof!
Sue
September 11th: Protecting the Porch
September 10th: Work well under way
By September 10th, the damage done to
the high north roof had been expertly
repaired and re-leaded, as architect
Robbie Bell's photos demonstrate. A
sophisticated roof alarm system has
been fitted and is in operation, so
that anything larger than a very fat
pigeon setting foot on the roof will
broadcast its presence to Crosby at
large.
Work is continuing on the porch roof
(see above).
The Raise the Roof Appeal is making
good progress. We have already raised
just under £10,000 - a wonderful
effort.
With £5,000 from the insurance, we
still need to raise another £10,000.
All contributions very welcome
.
Pplease
make cheques payable to 'PCC St Faith Great
Crosby' and send to our Treasurer, David Jones,
marking the envelope 'roof fund'. Don't forget
to Gift Aid your donation if you are a taxpayer.
David's address is on the DIRECTORY
page of this site. Thank you to all our friends!
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Church Christmas Cards
in aid of the 'Raise
the Roof' appeal
Available from church or to order
in packs of 5 with envelopes for £1.50 or
packs of 10 or £3.00
31st August 2014
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Day One: men at work on high, 26th
August
Roof (and Window!)
Progress
The
vicar's report for the congregation, as printed in
the September 2014 magazine
I write this as work is about to start on
the permanent repair on Tuesday 26th
August. The temporary repair has been very
good – it has largely held and kept us
watertight but we now need to get the work done
properly before the winter sets in. The
quality of the temporary repair as well as our
Architect Robbie Bell’s involvement gives us
confidence that our contractors will do a very
high quality job.
The work on the roof alarm will begin on
the same day. These have proved to be a
very effective deterrent to thieves in other
churches up and down the Diocese and
elsewhere. Basically, if thieves try
again, with the roof alarm, most of Crosby (and
the Vicar and Wardens who are the designated ‘to
be called’) will know very quickly – within
minutes!
The alarm will be installed and operational
from the first day of the repair. The work
on the roof itself will take 2-3 weeks.
None of this comes cheap! The total
bill comes to just under £27,000. However
we have already raised just over £6,000 –
without even formally launching an appeal, and
with the £5,000 from the insurance payment, we
are already over a third of the way there.
Some of the money raised is from effort – people
giving freely of their time, talents and energy,
and some of it is from people directly giving
–equally freely and generously – of their
money. It is a huge testament to St
Faith’s that we have come so far in a short
time.
Given this, we are now cautious but hopeful
that we will be able to raise the money without
resorting to a loan, whilst still being able to
continue our commitment to Parish Share.
This is a huge achievement!
We are hoping also that the less urgent but
still necessary repair to the roof over the
organ loft can be done at the same time – and
this should enable us to save some money on it.
Meanwhile, the arched window over the
Milton Road entrance to the Hall blew out of its
frame in the storms on the night of Sunday
10th-Monday 11th August. Robbie Bell came
to the rescue again, and a reliable local
contractor is doing the work. A ‘make
safe’ should happen within days, and get us
open, and a replacement window in a short
time.
Sometimes, it’s like this in our own homes
– one fabric issue after another! But the
satisfying thing is seeing the work done and the
buildings restored.
It has shown that we are up for buildings
projects – though perhaps we’d rather not have
found out in this way! We are lucky to
have committed and hardworking wardens who have
been involved at every stage in this
process.
On the very day the lead was stolen from
the roof, the PCC began to consider ways to give
proper kitchen facilities, loos and a more open
and welcoming entrance at the West end of the
Church. So – coming soon! – an outline of
what we hope for, as we seek to make this holy
house a place of prayer for God’s people and of
welcome and hospitality for all our neighbours
for another 100 years or so – and beyond!
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Roofing
Report: August 16th, 2014
The permanent repair work and fitting
of the roof alarm system is scheduled to
begin on 26th August. It shouldn't
cause any disruption inside the church
itself.
The 'slates fund' stands at just over
£4,100, thanks to the great generosity of St
Faith's people. We have also received our
insurance payout of £5,000.
Next week will see the launch of the 'Raise
the Roof' campaign, seeking to raise the
money we still need, and, we hope, to give
us some 'seed capital' to apply for grants
to improvements at the back of church.
Rick Walker's attractive small plaques made
from the damaged slates are still on sale at
the back of church, for a suggested donation
of at least £5. To make a larger donation,
please make cheques payable to 'PCC St Faith
Great Crosby' and send to our Treasurer,
David Jones, marking the envelope 'roof
fund'. Don't forget to Gift Aid your
donation if you are a taxpayer. David's
address is on the Directory
page of this site.
Activities
and events
The Church Recipe Book, last printed in
2009, is being relaunched to raise
money for the appeal. If you have any
recipes you’d like included, please send
them to Mary Crooke by email -
jwcrooke@btinternet.com or hand them to her.
Church Christmas cards, featuring an
attractive image of the 'rabbit madonna' in
the Lady Chapel will be on sale before too
long in aid of the roof appeal.
We are hoping that music will form some of
our fundraising for the roof. The
three members of the National Youth
Orchestra who gave a marvellous
recital in July - Anna (clarinet),
Eliza (cello) and James (piano) are giving a
lunchtime recital in aid of the appeal on
Saturday, 6th September. Details to
follow.
It's all beginning to happen - watch this
space for further bulletins.
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Damaged slates
above the porch - and rainwater in church after the
first heavy rain
Scaffolding tower in place for roof
repairs - and temporary waterproofing of the porch roof
Update as at
16/7/14
Let’s Raise the Roof for St
Faith’s!
An update on
the roof situation
The temporary repairs are holding and the
Church is watertight, though we are still
roping off part of the South part of the nave
as a precaution. Watch the website for
updates on progress.
In the meantime, the detailed quotations are
in. The final bill, including the roof alarm
and the repair to incidental damage, is just
short of £27,000. The insurance will
only cover the first £5000 of damage, so we
have already begun to fundraise to help us to
repair this historic house of prayer so that
we can continue to be the people of God and to
reach out in mission and service to our
parish. Rick Walker has made some
plaques from the damaged slates – these are
beautiful objects! Suggested
contribution for one of these is £5.
We have also received some substantial
donations to get us on our way. If you are
able to make a donation, please make cheques
payable to ‘PCC of St Faith Great Crosby’ and
send to David Jones (treasurer) and mark the
envelope ‘roof fund.’ Don’t forget to
Gift Aid if you are a taxpayer.
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A large amount
of lead was removed from our south porch and
the south side of the main roof during the
night of 14th/15th June, 2014 along with
considerable damage to several hundred tiles
and some rainwater gutters.
It is unfortunate that this type of theft is
on the increase again, and there has been a
spate of such metal thefts across the
Diocese recently. In order to warn
others, Sue gave an interview to the
Diocesan Bulletin and you can read it HERE
Sue also gave an interview to Roger Phillips’
Daybreak programme for Radio Merseyside –
details of how to access this available
shortly,
A temporary repair to make the church
watertight was completed on Wednesday 2nd
July. This should last for several
months. The scaffolding – properly
protected from further unwanted ‘climbers’ –
will remain up to allow us to get quotations
for the permanent repair and for a roof
alarm. Roof alarms are very effective –
if it happened again and we had one, half of
Crosby would know someone was on the roof – an
excellent deterrent.
Meanwhile, the Wardens and Sue, with support
from the PCC and advice from the Archdeacon
and Diocesan Heritage Support Officer (Ian
Simpson) have asked our Quinquennial Architect
Robbie Bell to project manage this work,
because he has the professional expertise to
ensure it is done to the highest possible
standard. Robbie, with the various
tendering contractors, is looking into the
feasibility of using material other than lead
for at least some of the repair – this should
save some money and also is an additional
deterrent – less metal to steal! Details about
this will be part of Robbie’s presentation and
final recommendation when the quotes come in.
It will be necessary for us to get a faculty
for the repair because of the extent of it,
and also for the roof alarm. A faculty
is the Church of England’s equivalent of
Planning Permission, and information on the
faculty process is here
http://www.liverpool.anglican.org/DAC
Sue and the Wardens have kept the Archdeacon
of Liverpool in the picture about all of this
– it is, quite simply, our duty to do
so. Archdeacon Ricky has agreed to write
to the Diocesan Chancellor to grant us
permission to get on with this work before the
faculty process is completed – basically,
because you can’t mess around with
roofs! A lasting repair has to be done –
if you lose the roof, you lose the building.
No church is insured for metal theft for more
than £5 000. This is because metal theft
is considered ‘high risk’ for churches - so,
as with any insurance, the insurance companies
either put the premiums prohibitively high (in
which case probably no church would bother!) –
or limit the cover. This means that we
will almost certainly need to fund some of the
repair ourselves. We are not yet
sure of the kind of sums that are likely to be
necessary, however, Sue, the Wardens and the
PCC have had to face the possibility that we
do not have enough available capital to cover
the cost. It is hard to put a sum on this
until the detailed quotations and
specifications have been received but we are
likely to face a bill running into 5
figures.
Sue has sought the advice of the Archdeacon
and the Diocesan Secretary. If we cannot
raise the capital in any other way, the
procedure is that, through the Diocesan Board
of Finance, we take out a loan which the Board
of Finance then underwrites. This means
that the Diocese takes on the RISK of the loan
but the parish has the RESPONSIBILITY for
paying it – it is a disciplined but generous
way of approaching a difficult situation. Sue
did ask about the possibility of a Parish
Share holiday, but this is no longer a real
option. If any parish does not pay its
Parish Share, (i) it is itself made more
vulnerable in terms of viability and (ii) the
Deanery to which it belongs carries the cost –
by losing some of its mission and growth
budget. The PCC agreed to us
investigating such a loan (not totally
unanimously but with a very substantial
majority), and Sue is in touch with the
Diocesan Secretary (Mike Eastwood) and Finance
Manager (Matt Elliot) about this. We
have to look at this possibility, hard though
it is, because, to emphasise, ‘to lose the
roof is to lose the building.’ However,
given that the LDBF is bearing the risk of the
loan, if this is what it comes to, they will
work with us to ensure we do not overstretch
ourselves in this way. We do need to
fundraise – not just for these repairs, but
for work to the fabric of the building in
general; however, we need to ensure the work
is done as soon as possible, and this is
putting in place the credit to do it – if we
need to.
It is ironic that the theft happened the very
night of a PCC Away Day at which we discussed
the fabric of the building. It was a
positive discussion in that we acknowledged
our excellent geographical situation, and our
work with the community, particularly through
the musical life of St Faith’s. Ian
Simpson had previously visited us, and we
looked together at a number of possible
developments to the building, including again
looking at getting running water and a
functional kitchen at the back of church, and
having a more welcoming entrance.
So, we are looking to ‘Raise the Roof’ – to
launch a fundraising initiative not just for
this repair but to improve the fabric of the
building and to sustain its ministry and
mission in the future. More details of
this will follow.
This is a challenging situation, thrust upon
us and not of our own making; however, St
Faith’s is a resourceful, creative and
courageous community – and we will face this,
with the help of God, in solidarity with one
another, and mindful that our building allows
us to play our role in the mission of the
whole church – to worship God and serve our
neighbours in this place.
In the meantime, more information will be
posted online as it becomes available – but
please feel free to contact Sue or one of the
Wardens it you want to know anything about
this – we will do our best to keep you in the
picture!
There will be a
Q and A session about this after
Church on Sunday 13th July,
by which time, all the tendering
for the repairs should be in, and
a recommendation made about which
to accept, and therefore we should
have some final figures.
Revd Dr Susan Lucas
July
5th, 2014
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