Parish Office
Friends of St Wilfrid's
The Friends inaugural meeting was held on 9th February 1993. The purpose is to provide a means by which people near and far can have an involvement in the life of the church. They assist in the maintenance and enhancement of the fabric and furnishings as well as the regular worship at St Wilfrid's. Over the last nine years the Friends have provided many useful and decorative artefacts for the church, some of which are listed here – installation of chamber organ, oil candles (to replace wax), altar frontal, Psalters and covers for same, new girdles for servers, contribution to the cleaning of the Rood screen, Rood screen spot lights, two radio microphone systems, church road sign, new kneelers for the front pews, and a CCTV camera to visually link choir master with organist. We hope to continue this good work over the coming years. Committee meetings are held quarterly to discuss and arrange fund raising events, such as coffee mornings and garden parties. Every year we hold a Friends Open day which is in September and also arrange for a Parish Outing to places of religious and historic interest i.e. Cathedral cities.
If you are interested in supporting the work of the Friends please apply for an application form the Secretary - Mrs Clare Lees via the Parish Office. The membership fee is a minimum of £5 a year.
A while ago Father Mark asked me if I could help out with the Friends of St.Wilfrid’s . It was felt that it was time to make a few changes and most importantly to try to encourage more members. The idea is to encourage local residents and people who use the Church or the hall to join The Friends. These may be people who do not necessarily attend services, for example members of the uniformed organisations, or businesses who use the church, but most importantly to make contact with all those who live in the Duchy Estate and environs. Indeed to contact anyone who has an interest in the Church. This does of course include anyone from the congregation joining too if they so wish, the more the merrier. So to this end we have a new brochure to send out and to leave on chairs during concerts and special services. Members will receive a biannual newsletter and an invitation to attend the annual celebration, around St.Wilfrid’s day in October. If anyone is interested in seeing the brochure, then please help yourself, you will find them on the tables by the exits.
Clare Lees