Author: Laura Thomas

Latest Heart of the Community newsletter

Posted on by Laura Thomas

The second in our series of newsletters for the Heart of the Community project is now out.

This edition includes details of fundraising events, online initiatives and the latest news from the building site of the new church and community centre.

You can view the newsletter online here

If you are on the mailing list you will receive a copy by email. There are a few printed copies available at the back of the church for those without email access, or you can be added to the mailing list by emailing Sue Woodhead, our project coordinator.

New Buy a Brick appeal launched

Posted on by Laura Thomas

St Michael’s Church is inviting everyone to play a part in the Heart of the Community project with our new Buy a Brick appeal.

The idea is that church members encourage everyone to buy a brick or two for the new church and community centre. Each brick represents a £10 gift, with a small certificate presented to everyone who donates.

Our target is to raise £50,000 for the project – which means selling 5,000 bricks.

We are currently recruiting volunteers to take a turn helping to run one of our three Buy a Brick display stands at local events and meeting places over the next few weeks. You could sell bricks at your own Christmas event too. Please contact Sue Woodhead if you’d like to help. (Hard hats will be provided.)

All the details, and a link to the Buy a Brick online giving page, can be found on the new Buy a Brick section of this website.

Remember – this project isn’t about a community building, it’s about building a community.

Thank you!

Posted on by Laura Thomas

£150,000 to make a difference

Thank you to everyone who gave and pledged so generously for our Heart of the Community gift day for church members last week. Our total for the day was over £150,000 with some more still to come in. 

We will be in touch very soon with the Heart of the Community charity banking details – enabling us to turn our pledges into commitments. For those who need to write a cheque please make it payable to St Michael’s Church Centre Ltd. – HOTC. 

If you missed the gift day, it’s not too late to pledge to the project. Please pick up a form at the back on church or contact Sue for further details.
Thank you!

Another £20,000 trust donation

Posted on by Laura Thomas

As well as seeing such generosity at our Heart of the Community gift day this week, we also received news of a donation of £20,000 from the Beatrice Laing Trust.

The Laing Trusts are named after Sir John Laing, a devout Christian who was instrumental in creating the global Laing Construction Group. He set up his first charitable trust in 1922, and the Beatrice Laing Trust, named after his wife, followed in 1952. Its focus is on the relief of poverty and the advancement of the Christian faith, both at home and abroad.

After visiting the site they chose to donate £20,000 towards the cost building our new church and community centre next door to the Old School Rooms in Stoke Gifford.

Trust director, Elizabeth Harley, said “I hope this will be of some encouragement to you and the church membership as a whole as the building work and your fundraising efforts continue”.

We are extremely grateful for their support of our vision to make a difference in this community and beyond.