Open letter to the Residents of Hartwell Village from the Council of St John the Baptist Church

The church council would like every one of you to feel that this parish church very much belongs to you as a parishioner and that you have a share of all aspects of church life to the degree that you feel comfortable with. Whether that's every week, once a year for Christmas, if you want to get married here or celebrate a christening or just come for a concert, we hope that you always feel welcome.

Just as with your own home, maintenance of the church has to be carried out regularly. This brings problems to the fore and our problem at the moment is the roof! A recent inspection by a construction expert has identified that timbers and tiles need to be removed, restored and replaced and this will in all probability at a cost in excess of £30,000. Obviously this is a large amount of money for the council members to raise alone and before we can start applying for grants we need to show we are making every effort to raise as much of this sum as we can, so to this end we are asking for your help.

We will be holding a social evening where we hope to meet any of you who would be interested in supporting the continued life of your church, in ways suggested by you.

If you would like more information about this or any other aspect of the church, please contact us.

[Taken from letter distributed around the village - phone numbers have been removed, but the hartwellchurch has a presence on this website - http://www.hartwellvillage.com/users/hartwellchurch]