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.
Ecclesiastical helps keep the heating on
07 December 2020
The running expenses most of us take for granted can present a real challenge for churches – especially in small rural parishes.
St Mary Magdalene in Cowden, Kent, is typical – it’s in a small village, and it has a small congregation, but heating oil needed to keep the beautiful old church warm during the winter months costs a small fortune.
The COVID-19 crisis has only made a difficult situation worse, so a £650 donation from Ecclesiastical Insurance’s Trust130 scheme was ‘very helpful’, according to Treasurer Stephen Boakes.
‘We’ve been lucky that many of our supporters and members of the congregation have continued to make donations, even without services,’ said Mr Boakes. ‘But the Ecclesiastical money was much appreciated. It went into funding those weekly and monthly running costs – like heating oil – that keep the church going.’
‘It’s really vital that we all pull together in times like these, in the hope that things improve in the coming years.’
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 £430,000 to 2,283 churches around the UK. There is no limit on the number of donations which can be made, and, in the case of St Mary Magdalene, 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.
