Friends of St Mary’s Elham
OBJECTIVES
The Friend’s of St Mary’s has been formed to raise money for the maintenance of Elham’s Parish Church at the centre of community life in the village and the Elham Valley.
The organisation, which has charitable status, is committed to the preservation of good repair of an ancient and significant building, which has been much praised by architectural writers both for its medieval features and for the quality of its Victorian and early twentieth century fittings.
Since St Mary’s church is an historic monument, and the preservation of its structure and fittings is a cause which should appeal to all those concerned with the heritage of East Kent, it is intended that membership of the Friends of St Mary’s should be drawn from the community at large, and not solely from those who attend church regularly.
The Friends of St Mary’s will set their annual fund raising targets in accordance with the five yearly inspection carried out by the architects of the Canterbury Diocese, and during the next half decade will be raising money for the electrical re-wiring of the church, the reinstatement of masonry and stonework, and the repair of the church roof.
By using the church as the location for many of their fund raising activities, the Friends of St Mary’s aim to ensure that the building itself remains a focus for local pride and community celebration.