CHARITY IN FOCUS - St. GILES CENTRE APPEAL


At our PCC meeting held on Monday 13th October 2023 the PCC decided to suspend our charitable giving for the whole of 2024, with the exception of the Parish Fete.  The reason for this is that we hope that work on the St. Giles Centre will begin in earnest in the summer of this year. 

To date we do not have a clear picture of how much this work is going to cost but it will certainly be a substantial amount.  Consequently every month we are going to ask our Church and community to contribute to a particular area of the refurbishment work.

April 2025 Update

TThank you to everyone who continues to support this important appeal. To date we have raised £30,140.

Church life is under considerable challenge and strain in these increasingly secular times, so the need to have a good centre as a place to offer fellowship and hospitality has never been greater. I

 do hope that you will continue to offer your support to this vital project.

Matthew


About St. Giles Centre Appeal

St Giles Centre has played an important part in the life of our church since its construction in the 1970s and 80s.
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Social events, play groups, music lessons, film nights, bereavement support groups, PCC meetings, Sunday Schools, afternoon teas and fund-raising events have all taken place within its walls. In addition, it has been home to the Parish Office for over 10 years which has meant that the administrative centre of the parish has been at the heart of the village along with our church. Importantly since the closing and demolition of the public toilets the Centre has been the site of the only toilets in close proximity to the church.

Over the past 20 years my focus and that of the PCC and the Friends has been the refurbishment of St Giles. Over this time half a million has been spent on such things as the lighting, kneelers, tower, bells, altar frontals, organ, cupboards, the lychgate, boiler and redecoration to mention just a few.

Now, with all the improvements safely in place the time has come to turn our attention to the refurbishment of the Centre. The current plans are suggesting a thorough refurbishment of the whole building which will include:

* A new roof across all rooms.
* A new unisex toilet which can be
* accessed when needed.
* A new kitchen
* New flooring and lighting throughout.
* Re-plastering and redecoration throughout
* A new tarmac driveway
* Solar power and gas supply.

As you can imagine all of this is not going to be cheap. As I write this, we are not in receipt of any builder’s quotes, but we are talking tens of thousands of pounds.

So that we do not have too many competing demands upon our finances, the PCC has agreed to make 2024 the year of the Centre. This means that every month our community will be invited to donate to a particular aspect of the refurbishment. For example, in January we will be raising funds for a new roof, then in February for the new kitchen and so on.

I know that donating to a building refurb is not the most exciting of projects, yet having a good and attractive Centre will play an important part in the ongoing life and mission of St Giles.

Donations (cheques made payable to St Giles PCC. Marked St Giles centre on the back) can be left in the envelopes which will be in the church, or by direct bank transfer to

Account No 50686212,
sort code 20-14-33,
Acc. name - Parochial Church Council of St Giles.

Thank you for your support.

Matthew


Prayer for the Centre Refurbishment

Almighty God, good Father to us all we thank you for your love and provision towards St Giles church over many years.
 


We now offer to you the challenges that we face in terms of our Centre, we pray for a generous response to our appeals and that all that is required may be in place so that the light of your love and truth may be proclaimed in this place.

This we ask in Jesus' name,

Amen



Charity in Focus 2023

Here are the charities that were
supported in 2023:
 
Month Charity
Jan / Feb Church of Bangladesh
March MANUP - Men's Mental Health Charity
April / May Christian Aid
(May / June The Parish Fete)
July / August Christians Against Poverty
September Giving to St. Giles
October Poverty and Hope Appeal
November CRISIS
December The Samaritans
 

Charity in Focus 2022

Here are the charities that were
supported in 2022:
.
Month Charity
Jan - Feb The Church of Bangladesh
March Zimbabwe a National Emergency (ZANE)
April  - May Christian Aid
(May - June The Parish Fete)
July - August Away From It All (AFIA)
September The Friends of St. Giles
October Poverty and Hope
November CRISIS
December Bromley Homeless

Eddie Roberts  01689 851267
stgiles.charity@gmail.com

ABOUT ST. GILES CHURCH


Donation from Foresters

On 2nd April 2025 Barbara Pauling, Val Bracey and Chris Stiller from the Orpington Court of the Foresters Friendly Society, presented Rev Mathew Hughes with a cheque for £300.00 as a donation towards the refurbishment of the St Giles Hall for the Bereavement Counselling Service.  



The Foresters is a Friendly Society which was established in1834 when workers combined together to contribute towards sickness payments and death benefits under the principal of mutual self help.  When the Welfare State came into being in 1948 it was feared that Societies, like the Foresters, would collapse but thankfully we were able to survive.  

The Foresters is a nationwide Mutual Branch Society and the local Courts (branches) can donate towards local charities.
 

Charity Film Nights:

Charity Film nights are held in the St. Giles Centre, normally on the last Thursday of each month.

Film details can be found in the Parish Magazine