170-year-old chapel brought into the 21st century
Case study
Mariners is a 170-year-old chapel located in the middle of the re-developed Gloucester Docks. Like many churches during the Covid pandemic services moved on-line.
Churches facing budget cuts helped by Trust130
07 December 2020
The COVID-19 outbreak has hit churches hard in many ways – and finances have taken a particularly serious knock.
St Marks & All Saints Churches in West Parley, in the Diocese of Salisbury, are typical – Treasurer Derek Warner is looking at a shortfall of between £15,000 and £18,000 for the year. Ecclesiastical Insurance’s recent Trust130 donation of £650 went into general funds, and was a welcome addition.
‘It’s been extremely tough,’ said Mr Warner. ‘We have had no congregations, so obviously that means no collections. But even more importantly, we have lost all of our income from church hall lettings. We have survived by eating into our capital, and I’m looking at ways of cutting our budgets for 2021.’
‘Donations such as the Trust130 money from Ecclesiastical Insurance are absolutely vital – they are really interested in helping churches and their communities and we’re very grateful to them.’
Trust130 was launched in 2017, to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the founding of the company. Under the scheme, in line with Ecclesiastical’s charitable ownership and Christian values, every time a new customer takes out a new home insurance policy with the insurer it offers to donate £130 to the church or cathedral of that customer’s choice.
It has been extraordinarily successful – to date, the company has given more than £460,000 to over 2500 churches around the UK. There is no limit on the number of donations which can be made, and, in the case of St Marks & All Saints, the amount of money given so far totals £650.
If your home insurance is due for renewal and you are interested in how Trust130 can benefit your church, please contact Ecclesiastical Insurance on 0800 7830 130.
