PLEASE FORWARD THIS UPDATE TO ANYONE ELSE WHO MAY BE INTERESTED AND PRINT OFF FOR YOUR NON INTERNET FRIENDS **STOP PRESS TODAY FRIDAY 29.7.11 3PM HEAR JOHN POOLE OF OAKHAM RESEARCH BEING INTERVIEWED REGARDING THE ST JOHN'S CONSULTATION STUDIES BRIDGE RADIO 102.2FM LISTEN ONLINE http://www.thebridgeradio.net/
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ST JOHN'S CHURCH ..... which was 171 years old on 27th July. Opened on 27th July 1840. Closed in November 2002. There was a great deal of interest in this on our facebook page with large numbers of Happy Birthday wishes and some fabulous encouraging messages. If you haven't yet joined us on facebook please do as this is where daily updates and snippets are posted.
ONLINE COMMUNITY CONSULTATION SURVEY Can we remind people that the Parish Hall consultation was only part 1 of the overall feasibility study regarding the 'Future For St John's Church' the next three parts are now underway.
We need 2000 completions of the more detailed online community consultation. We have commissioned Oakham Research of Dudley to carry out this work. We don't see the individual answers but do receive a weekly update of 'how things are going so far'.
The survey takes about 10 minutes to do, it's very easy to follow and as an incentive we have offered the chance to win a family ticket to the Black Country Museum and a further cash prize of £20.
The information from this survey will help create the business plan we need to present to the Church Commissioners and we need as many local people as possible who would USE the building - for religious, community, social or commercial purposes. http://surveys.omni-web.co.uk/oakhamstjohns
As at last Friday's report there had been 103 completions so obviously we have a long way to go on this so PLEASE find 10 minutes to do the survey and remember also that completions with name and address details carry more validity than anonymous completions. We know it takes another couple of minutes to type that in but it does make a big difference to the survey results and also gives you chance to win the incentives on offer.
So please, DO IT NOW and if you know people who don't have a computer let them share yours, or they can dictate their responses to you even over the telephone. Hope to report better figures in the next update!
NAIL BITING TIME RE DRAINS RESTORATION AND RESTORATION OF LYCHGATE We are still awaiting a reply to say whether we can carry out these works. The works were agreed in principle at the meeting of the St John's Church Steering Group held on 15th June chaired by the Archdeacon of Dudley The Ven Fred Trethewey. The local St John's Church Parochial Church Council were to discuss the matter further at their meeting on 21st July.
We are hoping to arrange an event for 11-11-11 based around restoration of the lychgate. The conservation architect appointed, Steve Sedwell, has now recommended a contractor and the cost is around £20,000. The works have been agreed by English Heritage.
The cost of restoring drainage to the building is around £5000. Carpvale of Wombourne will be engaged to carry out the work which has also been approved by English Heritage.
Permission is already in place for the high level waterproofing works value around £16000 including replacing the few loose tiles needed to repair the main roof and the guttering and downpipes, but the drains have to be done first - otherwise the new guttering could send water straight into the foundations of the building.
TIPTON SLASHER BONES There has been a great deal of press recently regarding the Tipton Slasher bones - has he been stolen from St John's and is he now under the statue in Tipton?
We have arranged some tours of the grounds with author of Tales From A Churchyard, St John's, Kates Hill, Dudley the historian Chris Smith. He has looked at the evidence and will impart his thoughts on the tours. There are so many incredible stories to be told at St John's that we have to divide them into different tours.
The first two have been developed and dates set.
We need advance bookings due to restricted numbers. All proceeds to St John's Church Preservation Group funds and our grateful thanks to Chris Smith who is giving his time freely. Tales From A Churchyard will be on sale after each tour and you can ask the author to sign the book for yourself or as a gift.
TOUR 1 (INCLUDES TIPTON SLASHER GRAVE) Sunday 7.8.11 3-4pm followed by tea and biccies cost £3Friday 12.8.11 11pm followed by Midnight Supper cost £10Wednesday 17.8.11 7-8pm followed by tea and biccies cost £3
TOUR 2 (WILL INCLUDE A BRIEF CALL TO THE TIPTON SLASHER GRAVE) Wednesday 14.9.11 7-8pm followed by tea and biccies cost £3Sunday 18.9.11 3-4pm followed by tea and biccies cost £3Friday 23.9.11 11pm followed by midnight supper cost £10
Bring brollies if raining and good strong walking shoes with non slip soles needed. Bring a torch for the night time tour.
WHEELBARROWS NEEDED The grounds volunteers are in urgent need of more wheelbarrows - if you have one you no longer use that you could donate please get in touch or bring it to the drop in. It doesn't matter about condition as long as it still works.
Helpers always needed for the grounds - and also for the School House car park which needs weeding and sweeping on regular basis and is part of the historic and unique remaining complex of William Bourne church (1840) and adjacent William Bourne church school (1846).
POTENTIAL USER SURVEY Is also underway. If you would be in a position to hire space in the re-opened St John's whether on an occasional or regular basis please complete the 'Potential User Survey' below or get in touch with John Poole at Oakham Research on 01384 353910 or john.poole@oakhamresearch. The link is also available from his website www.oakhamresearch.com
Having ancestors of my own who married at St John, the restoration and re-opening is very important to me as I am sure it is to all who have connections with this beautiful Church. Please see details of the appeal below and offer your support in any way you can. A request from Deb Brownlee appears below.............
PLEASE READ THIS VERY CAREFULLY AND CIRCULATE ON IF YOU CAN
We have got 5 days to drum up at least 500 people to attend the attached event.
It has been very made clear to us that if we don't get enough people there it will be seen as proof of the lack of genuine interest and that will probably be that. All our work will have been wasted.
You will get this message again through facebook and general emails during the week but I am sending this email personally to people who I think might go the extra mile to help.
Please print off the attached poster (you have to join the two parts together) and put it everywhere you can - shops, lampposts, your car, front doors and windows, absolutely anywhere.
We also aim to get a load of leaflets out - if you can help with delivering and/or getting copying done please come to the drop in tomorrow Tuesday from 6.30/7pm or email me.
Please get in touch with your widest possible circle of friends and family - send them this poster and ask them to round up as many people as they possibly can to come to the Parish Hall on Saturday afternoon. Time commitment is about 10-15 minutes.
To make the Diocese consider re-opening the church we have to overwhelm them with the public demand. We can only do this with people, hundred and hundreds of them.
People can come and support from the heritage point of view, because they want to see it re-opened for community use or they may wish to go to church there, get married/christenings etc. They don't have to live in the area or parish.
Please email me back with what you will be doing to help with getting people there - some indication of numbers would be very re-assuring.
Thanks very much
Deb
Well here we are at last. Our big chance to show The Diocese and the Church Commissioners the public support for re-opening St John's. As usual but even more importantly than ever before please pass this email on to anyone else interested and print it off for your non email friends.
We have until Saturday afternoon 9th July between 2 and 5pm to drum up at least 500 people to get to the Parish Hall to complete a survey form arranged by the Diocese of Worcester. This form will be used to assess public support for re-opening St John's Church, and what it might be used for, which includes the possibility of re-opening it as a place of worship. You can't have the form in advance, or by post, or by email, or afterwards - the intention is to judge us on how many people we can turn out to attend in person and complete the form on the day.
Further information reproduced below and on attachment.
Please assist us in every way you can.
Please pass this message to all your contacts and print off copies of the attached to display as posters in shops, your houses, cars, offices, pubs and clubs, and to give to people.
It is essential that we get a good turnout.
Participants do not need to live in the parish area to complete the questionnaire or have any intention of worshipping at St John's. They may be interested in St John's as a heritage building and potential community centre and perhaps support future fundraising events there. St John's is a symbol for the whole Black Country not just Dudley.
We have organised a fun day to run alongside the Parish Hall consultation period 2-5pm. There will be musicians, a town crier, stalls, jumble sale, free food, free facepainting, and a free raffle for a bottle of whisky for everyone who comes out of the Parish Hall.
If you know anyone who can do any sort of street entertainment, a clown for instance, or unicycle rider, accordion player, any other musicians or dancers please get in touch straightaway.
CARL CHINN St John's Church Preservation Group patron Carl Chinn gave out two impassioned appeals for attendance on his BBC Radio WM show last Sunday - you might like to listen - this link will be live until Sunday morning only - go in at 1) 0.08.28 and the second mention 2) is at 0.14.44.
MARK CRUMP One of our supporter singer/songerwriter Mark Crump has very quickly rewritten and performed the Police Song 'Message in a Bottle' to be an SOS to Save St John's. Listen here:
He's done a great job and will also be performing for us on Saturday between 2pm and 5pm so you can listen to him live then as well
ESSENTIAL ONLINE SURVEY TO COMPLETE AS WELL In addition to coming along on Saturday, PLEASE complete the online survey, which is part two of the feasibilty study (Parish Hall is part 1) and provides ESSENTIAL information for the future business plan. Please pass the link to all your friends, colleagues and family as well. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and we need at least 2000 responses. http://surveys.omni-web.co.uk/oakhamstjohns There will also be a bank of 6 laptop computers available in our drop in information centre on Saturday, with John Poole of Oakham Research, the designer of the online survey, in charge so the survey can also be completed online while you are with us.
URGENT REQUISITIONS LIST FOR SATURDAY IF YOU CAN HELP We need the loan of:Folding Tables - any sizes will be usefulMobile Internet Dongles with data freeWe need:Donations of food (sandwiches, cakes, crips, biscuits), tea, coffee, sugar, long life milk, squashWe need:Volunteer car park marshallsVolunteer tour guides (crib sheet provided)People with cars on standby if we get asked for liftsLeaflet deliverers - needed NOW we have 2 days left. Go straight to the drop in, collect some leaflets and put your name by the side of the street(s) you can deliver. The telephone number at the drop in is 0752 218 4461 and it's open 9.30-4.30pm. To get at the leaflets outside of these hours ring Tony on 0754 476 4261 or Deb 0787 119 5042. We also need Urdu and Punjabi interpreters (we have some but need more) and please tell all your friends from other faiths and cultures that this consultation INCLUDES THEM and we actively appeal to them to participate.
FRIENDS OF THE THE ARCHIVES TALK 'ST JOHN'S CHURCH' Deb Brownlee Chair of St John's Church Preservation Group and Chris Smith, historian, author, editor of Village Voice, author of Tales From a Churchyard, St John's, Kates Hill, Dudley will be giving at a talk at Dudley Archive this Thursday 7th July evening at 7.30pm.More info here, guests are welcomehttp://www.communigate.co.uk/bc/fdalhs/
DUDLEY MARKETOur tombola stall will run as usual this Saturday but will close at 4pm to give the market volunteers chance to get to the Parish Hall to vote.Plaza Mall stall will NOT be open as Marie will be performing with the New Johnians up near the Parish Hall.We need more helpers for the Plaza Mall stall.
QUALITY PRINT A mention must be given to Tom Kiely of Quality Print, by Greggs on Pensnett Trading Estate. They have printed several thousand leaflets for us at very short notice, using good quality paper and at a very reasonable price.We can't recommend them highly enough, contact details Second Avenue, West Midlands, Kingswinford DY6 7UW
01384 280115
qpp@onebillnet.co.uk
THANK YOU TO ALL
Who are helping us put this day together, it has to be said it is a time for finding out some friends we didn't know we had as we appeal for help at such short notice and we are being amazed at the incredible input by people some of whom we didn't even know cared so much. THANK YOU TO ALL.
"Working Together To Save St John's Church"
St John's Church Preservation GroupSt John's Church Preservation Group Drop In Information Centre, The Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley, DY2 7JT www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.comfacebook Save St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley and StJohnschurch PreservationGroupTwitter StJohnsPG
We started taking a stall on Dudley Market on Saturday 22nd August (with Ned Williams supporting us on that day) and we haven't missed a Saturday since.
We have found being on the Market very useful for getting to talk to people, and the response to our tombola and donation tubs has been very generous averaging just over £80 per week towards restoration funds.
However despite the best efforts of Councillor Steve Waltho on our behalf we cannot get out of paying Dudley Council for the market stall, as we do not yet have a charity number (we are an unincorporated charitable association but not moved into full registration yet).
Moving into full registration is quite complicated and time consuming and we are at the start of the process with help from the Dudley Council for Voluntary Service and The Association of Preservation Trusts.
We therefore have two appeals regarding our Saturdays on Dudley Market:
1. We need really good tombola prizes - bottles, cosmetics, unopened gift packs, chocolates, DVD's, big clean soft toys - anything nice that will attract attention 2. We want to ask people to sponsor a Saturday stall - the cost is £21.90 or slightly less if we have to take an inside stall. Please either email, ring Deb on 0787 119 5042 or just come along any Saturday if you can help with either of these appeals. New helpers also needed especially as the weather gets colder and we will need to be able to take breaks.
Dear St John's Church Preservation Group supporter
We have a very busy month ahead of us and we need to ask for a great deal of your support, also please do forward this email and posters attached on to as many people as you can think of.
We haven't scheduled anything as yet for after the 1st December meeting as we are still hoping to get St John's Church re-opened on a part time basis, in which case more of our fundraising activities would start to take place inside the church building. Our main events would continue at Quality Hotel, Club Dudley and Ex Servicemens Club as our major event venue sponsors.
Posters attached: please print off and place in your local shops, pubs,clubs, place of work, your car, front window - anywhere you can think of, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Fundraising Events:
The events are the main way we are raising funds to rescue, re-open and restore St John's Church and we need to enlist your help to ensure we get really good attendance.Please invite as many people as you can and try to support at least one of the following fundraising events:
Thursday 12th November 7.30pm Philip Solomon. Club Dudley, Waterloo Street, Dudley. Tickets £7 on the door, £6 in advance or £5 in groups of ten or more. More details on poster attached. Prize raffle also includes two tickets to see the famous John Sparry with the Simon Deeley Trio on 11th December at the Bonded Warehouse.
Thursday 19th November 7.30pm. Ian 'Sludge' Lees (Tizwaz) and Charity Auction. Sedgley Conservative Club, Hall Street, Sedgley. Tickets £10 on the door or in advance includes supper. See poster attached
Thursday 26th November 7.30pm. Dodici Corde Guitar Duo, Quality Hotel Dudley (Ward Arms). Wonderful classical guitar music played on genuine 1832 and 1840 guitars. Tickets £6 on the door or in advance, includes a glass of wine and nibbles. See poster attached.
Sunday 29th November 2pm - 7pm. Friends United event. St John's Church Preservation Group in partnership with 7th Dudley Scouts. More details to follow but basically - barbecue - home made cakes - tombola - bric a brac and book sale - lights switch on at 4pm. All proceeds divided equally between St John's Church Preservation Group and 7th Dudley Scouts. Venue: Scout Hut, Watsons Green Road, Kates Hill, Dudley
Meetings: PLEASE NOTE INCORRECT DATE GIVEN IN EMAIL. CORRECT DATE FOR MEETING WITH ANDREW MOTTRAM IS 12th NOVEMBER 2009. EMAIL AMENDED ACCORDINGLY. APOLOGIES ON BEHALF OF SJCPG FOR THIS ERROR.
Thursday 12th November 1.45pm Quality Hotel, Dudley. A short 45 minute introductory meeting with ANDREW MOTTRAM newly appointed Heritage Building and Community Development Officer (Diocese of Worcester). He would very much like to meet members and supporters of St John's Church Preservation Group. Please come along if you can, an email back to say you are coming would be appreciated.
Tuesday 1st December 6.30pm St John's Church Parish Hall, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley. A public meeting with the St John's Church Steering Group chaired by the Archdeacon of Dudley. The first such meeting since November 2007. This time we are all at the table together. Most members of the Steering Group will speak - The Ven Fred Trethewey (Archdeacon of Dudley), Alan Taylor (English Heritage), John Dentith (Diocesan Advisory Committee), Deb Brownlee (St John's Church Preservation Group), Local Councillors Steve Waltho and Shaukat Ali and representatives from the St John's Church Parochial Church Council. Topics - Redundancy, Listing, Funding, Feasibility, Re-opening, "The Future". Plenty of time to ask questions. Refreshments and chat afterwards. Invite everyone you know who is interested in what is happening with St John's Church, Kates Hill
FUNDRAISING IDEAS
Please think of any events or activities you could do to help raise funds for St John's Church Preservation Group. So far people have raised funds for us by running: a coffee morning- a jumble sale - a halloween party - a tuck shop at work.
These were simple and enjoyable and between them have already raised just under £1000, a very substantial contribution indeed.
SATURDAYS ON DUDLEY MARKET
We are still on Dudley Market every Saturday. You can purchase tickets, have a go on the tombola, hand in donations, have a chat. Tombola prize donations especially bottles always needed. The Saturday stall makes around £80 per week for funds and with your help we could increase that even further so please spread the word and pop along to see us.
St John's Church Preservation Group would like to THANK YOU for your continued support throughout 2009
2009 has been a busy year......we share a few highlights here....
The St John's Church building is now Grade II listed - a massive accolade for St John's, for Kates Hill, for Dudley and the Black Country
We thank the members of the St John's Church Steering Group chaired by the Archdeacon of Dudley for working hard with us to try to find a future for the St John's Church building.
We have raised over £10,000 towards restoration costs the bulk of which in less than 6 months but we have a very long way to go.
We have agreement in principle to re-open St John's Church building subject to risk assessment and insurance - the insurance assessor has visited and we eagerly await the report due in January 2010.
With the Steering Group we have agreed the specialist architects we would like to work with to carry out the essential feasibility study. We are appealing to everyone to help with fundraising for the costs of the feasibility study - estimated £10-£15,0000 - send a donation, run a coffee morning, collect your loose change, have a whip round, collect tombola prizes for our Saturday stall on Dudley Market. Anything you can think of to help us get the funds together for this most essential stepping stone to the future.
We have continued to receive marvellous support from the local media and from our Patron Professor Carl Chinn. Also from our local Councillors and MP Ian Austin.
Many wonderful entertainers have given their time freely to help us raise funds, and fantastic venues such as The Quality Hotel, Club Dudley and The Ex Servicemens Club have provided us with meeting rooms free of charge. Ex Servicemens were also the first group to run an event on our behalf and raised over £300.
Ned Williams needs a special mention, as do all the regular helpers and the grounds clearance team.
Facebook has been a special success for us, with 668 friends on our page and 403 members in our group Save St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley.
On attachment two items of interest
A piece from the Express and Star on 4th December - our friend Aynuk, who was married at St John's in 1959, has donated his office desk which he has been using for 46 years, to St John's Church Preservation Group. The desk will be auctioned on 23rd January 2010 at Aston Auctioneers, Tower Street, Dudley. Please put the date in your diary. Aynuk organised a benefit show for us in August which raised £1200.
An article written by Mick Pearson, editor of the BlackCountryman Magazine, the excellent quarterly magazine of the Black Country Society. We are very grateful to Mick for creating this feature for us and recommend all our members to have a look at the Black Country Society websitehttp://blackcountrysociety.co.uk/
CHRISTMAS SERVICES IN THE PARISH HALL, ST JOHN'S ROAD, KATES HILL
CHRISTMAS EVE 11.30PM MIDNIGHT MASS CHRISTMAS DAY 9.30AM CHRISTMAS MORNING FAMILY SERVICE SUNDAY 27TH DECEMBER 10AM HOLY COMMUNION
PLEASE ALSO FORWARD THIS UPDATE TO INTERESTED FRIENDS AND FAMILY
MEETING OF NEW POSSIBLE COMMUNITY GROUP FOR KATES HILL MONDAY 18TH JANUARY 2010 6.30PM ST THOMAS'S COMMUNITY NETWORK BEECHWOOD ROAD KATES HILL
In response to requests from residents a meeting has been set up - organised by John Doughty DMBC Directorate of Adult, Community and Housing Services. 01384 818181.
1. Introductions
2. What the meeting is about
3. What are the area's problems
4. How can we resolve them
5. The way forward
6. Any other business
7. Meeting Closes
St John's Church Preservation Group will be represented at this meeting. Everyone is welcome (not just council tenants) so come along if you can.
PHOTOS FROM SATURDAY 9TH FEBRUARY - IAN AUSTIN MP, COUNCILLORS STEVE WALTHO AND SHAUKAT ALI
Link to facebook photo album - click on the first pic to enlarge then use the 'next'button to go through the album
Ian Austin and Councillors Waltho and Ali are due to help on our Dudley Market stall again on Saturday 6th February from 1pm, also 6th March and 10th April. Ian Austin is the MP for Dudley North and Government Minister for the West Midlands Region. He has supported the work of St John's ChurchPreservation Group since we started in August 2007. Councillor Waltho and Ali are both founder members of the St John's Church Preservation Group and the St John's Church Steering Group.
RACE AGAINST TIME - MEMBER COPY PRESS RELEASE - PLEASE RESPOND TO THE APPEAL IF YOU CAN
Members of St John's Church Preservation Group aiming to save and restore the historic Grade II listed St John's Church, Kates Hill are panicking as the harsh weather has stalled fundraising efforts and cost the group valuable fundraising time and money.
The group has until just 31st March to raise the £10,000 needed to start the essential feasibility study "The Future For St John's Church" which will identify financially sustainable future use for the building, and also vitally whether there is sufficient local demand to re-open the building for worship.
The result of the feasibility study will also drive the future business plan, without which the group cannot apply to major funds such as the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Lichfield based award winning architects Brownhill Hayward Brown - the company which oversaw the magnificent rebirth of Bilston Town Hall, plus works at Trentham Gardens and Walsall Arboretum, have been selected to carry out the study, which will look at not only possible building adaptations, including heating, toilets, kitchen and disabled access but also environmental considerations, future management and funding of the church building and graveyard and extensive community consultation.
Deb Brownlee chair of St John's Church Preservation Group "We went through a long process before we eventually decided that Brownhill Hayward Brown are the organisation we want to work with and quite frankly they are such a talented company and will bring such expertise and knowledge to the table that we cannot wait to work with them and get things moving along. We have promised to have the funds in place by the end of March but this weather has stopped most of our fundraising right in its tracks".
"We've called off a Christmas event and our traditional January Variety Night so far and these two alone have cost us at least £1000. In addition to this we have seen a drop in visitors to our regular Saturday market stall over the last few weeks as people have transport difficulties or stay at home to avoid the risk of having a fall. So far we haven't arranged anything for February either - the weather is just too severe and seems to be lingering on forever".
The group have also been thwarted in their efforts to set up a planned team of volunteer outreach workers to assist with local fundraising - candidates have been unable to attend interviews and it is too dangerous underfoot to start the proposed local canvassing campaign.
The Preservation Group are now asking supporters to find other ways to help them raise the £10,000 necessary to start the feasibility study on time.
Deb Brownlee "Perhaps our supporters could run a coffee morning at home or have a family whip round - both of these have been done and raised excellent funds. One gent asked for donations to our appeal in lieu of Birthday gifts and again this provided a valuable addition to funds. Some people have sold items on e-bay and donated the money to us. And as always we are asking people to collect their loose change - a simple but effective way of raising surprising amounts of money - we've had about £500 in so far from loose change collections and every penny counts".
Professor Carl Chinn, patron of St John's Church Preservation Group "We have within our grasp the historic opportunity to restore and re-open this iconic Black Country Church. I urge people to throw their weight behind the St John's Church Preservation Group and help them to overcome this period of difficulty and keep the fundraising efforts going."
Members of the Preservation Group can be found on Dudley Market every Saturday, or donations can be sent to St John’s Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John’s Road, Dudley, DY2 7JT.
The group are currently seeking to raise £16,000 for essential waterproofing works (around £8000 raised towards this), up to £15,000 for the feasibility study and £5000 to replace the lightning conductor. It is expected to cost around £150-£200,000 to get the building re-opened and a further £700,000 over ten to twenty years for total restoration.
More information about the work of the Preservation Group can be found on www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com or on facebook group Save St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley.
ENDS DUDLEY LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY THURSDAY 21ST JANUARY DUDLEY LIBRARY, 7.15PM SPEAKER IAN BOTT "LOST MANSIONS OF THE BLACK COUNTRY"
IAN IS ANOTHER GREAT FRIEND OF ST JOHN'S CHURCH PRESERVATION GROUP SO COME ALONG AND SUPPORT HIM IF YOU CAN.
LAUNCH OF BOOK 'TALES FROM A CHURCHYARD' BY CHRIS SMITH
The launch took place on Saturday 6th February with opening speech by Ian Austin MP and Government Minister for the West Midlands Region. Author Chris Smith also said a few words and then stayed for book signing. We sold £400 worth of books in a couple of hours which we felt was a very encouraging start.
The book at an introductory price of £7.50 is available from:
Dudley Archive Service, Coseley Tiwana's (The Supermarket a few hundred yards away from St John's Church, open 7 days 9am to 10pm) From our Dudley market stall every Saturday By mail order chq for £8.99 to St John's Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley, DY2 7JT
Photographs from the launch here (Click on the first one then go through using the next button)
To hear author Chris Smith being interviewed by our patron Dr Carl Chinn on BBC Radio WM last Sunday click here and go to 1.42.19 on the time bar which will take you straight to the interview. Please note this 'Listen Again' link will only last until Saturday 13th Feb.
The raffle for the footstool kindly donated by Tony Mitchell of Mitch's Furniture, one of our wonderful neighbours on Dudley Market made £84 for funds.
Tony can be found on Dudley Market on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. We thank him for his generosity and his loyalty to St John's which was his childhood church.
AYNUK'S DESK
The auction date in January did not go ahead but the desk, along with handwritten letter of authentication from Aynuk and other signed memorabilia will be auctioned on Saturday 20th February at Aston's Auctioneers, Tower Street. All proceeds to St John's Church Preservation Group. Sale starts 10am.
This was discussed at the meeting of the St John's Church Steering Group which took place on Tuesday 9th February. The group is chaired by the Archdeacon of Dudley. The St John's Parochial Church Council reported that the insurers have said that pending further remedial works access will remain limited to approved contractors and church officers. The Archdeacon is now taking the matter up and will ask the insurers for further detail regarding the remedial works required. So not good news yet but it is still being worked on. The Steering Group will reconvene when the reply is received from the insurance company.
Archdeacon media statement: Chair of the Steering Group The Ven Fred Trethewey "Many positive developments came out of our meeting and I have already begun to tackle a list of actions, such as setting the feasibility study in motion, and seeking clarification over the insurance questions raised.”
FEASIBILITY STUDY
This is such an important next step that we agreed in Steering Group to ask the consultants if they can start on 1st April. This gives us the target of raising £10,000 by 31st March or alternatively diverting other equally essentially needed funds. We can't move forward into the future without the feasibility study or apply for the larger grants.
More to follow on this but please do everything you can to help raise funds.
(Member copy of press release - all welcome please come along and support if you can)
Following an appeal on internet networking group Facebook for help with fundraising, Dudley Pub 'The Griffin' situated in Stone Street has arranged a whole day event to raise funds to help save St John's Church, Kates Hill.
Griffin owners Paul Totney and Amy Millinson have devoted this Sunday 28th March to raising funds for St John's Church Preservation Group.
This will be the first large scale charity event the pub, itself a Grade II listed building, has held.
Paul Totney of The Griffin "We have decided to support St John's Preservation Group because so many of our customers live in that area and it is obvious that people really care about this historic church. Heritage matters in Dudley and we believe St John's Church is a cause worthy of support and also gives us chance to put something back into the community".
From 1pm Darts enthusiasts can register at the pub for a Darts Tournament which commences at 2pm. Youngsters from the age of 14 years are also welcome to enter. Entry costs £5 and prizes include a trophy and medals, eleven gallons of beer supplied by Marstons Brewery, Meals for two at Twice The Spice and The Fellows Restaurant plus a free taxi home sponsored by the Griffin.
During the evening there will be a raffle and a disco with a free buffet provided by the Griffin.
Deb Brownlee, Chair of St John's Preservation Group" How can words express how grateful we are to Paul and Amy at The Griffin for organising such an amazing day to help us raise funds. This sort of positive response helps to keeps us going and will raise essential funds towards the 'Future for St John's' feasibility study which starts in less than a month. We are especially grateful to the prize sponsors and to our facebook friend Brett Guest who facilitated our first meeting with the Griffin."
Patron of St John's Church Preservation Group Dr Carl Chinn "It is heartening to see community spirit thought by so many to be a thing of the past, hard at work and helping to save St John's Church which is of course now acknowledged through the listing process to be of national as well as local importance."
For further information and to pre-book entrance to the Darts Tournament contact Paul Totney at The Griffin on 07823 774 687.
St John's Church Preservation group are currently seeking to raise £16,000 for essential waterproofing works (£9000 raised) and £10,000 for the 'Future For St John's Church' feasibility study (£2000 raised). It is expected to cost around £150-£200,000 to get the building fully re-opened and a further £700,000 over ten to twenty years for total restoration.
More information about the work of the Preservation Group can be found on www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com.
Donations can be sent to St John’s Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John’s Road, Dudley, DY2 7JT.
TALES FROM A CHURCHYARD, ST JOHN'S CHURCH, KATES HILL, DUDLEY, VOLUME 1 by Chris Smith The book is now on a third print run and has attracted rave reviews from readers.
STOCKISTS:
St John's Church Preservation Group Dudley market stall, every Saturday Tiwana's (the supermarket right by St John's Church) Open seven days, 9am to 10pm NEW!! The Black Country Bugle Shop, High Street, Cradley Heath From the Archive Service, Coseley By mail order from St John's Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley DY2 7JT send cheque for £8.99 to include P&P. VOLUME 2 is now in preparation. Research is well under way - if you have an interesting story or any other snippet regarding anyone buried at St John's PLEASE LET US KNOW.
A NOTE FROM ST JOHN'S CHURCH, SWINDON, NEAR DUDLEY (Another William Bourne designed church building)
Just to let you know that we are holding a History Day on Saturday 27 March from 10a.m. to 4p.m.
Our original registers will be available for family research, details of Swindon's War Hero's, refreshments, items of church history and of course the church itself to look around. Entrance is free but we would appreciate donations especially for use of the registers.
After this event the original registers will be going to Stafford for storage so this the last opportunity to see them without a bit of travelling.
TAKING OVER THE CHARITY SHOP NEAR TO ST JOHN'S
The meeting on 16th March did not reach a conclusion. Further enquiries are to be made about other possible options and a further committee meeting has been arranged for Thursday 25th March 7pm Ex Servicemens Club, Hall Street, Dudley. Anyone wishing to join the discussion and offer help is welcome to attend.
AGENDA 1. Apologies 2. Opening Prayers 3. Minutes of meeting held on 16th March 4. Charity shop or other premises -discussion 5. Any other business 6. Date of next meeting 7. Lords Prayer
SATURDAY HELPERS AND TOMBOLA PRIZES
We need to renew our calls for Saturday volunteers and tombola prizes - we are very short of both.
YE OLDE FOUNDRY PUB CHOOSE ST JOHN'S CHURCH PRESERVATION GROUP AS BENEFICIARY FOR THEIR ANNUAL CHARITY BAND NIGHT
This was a very pleasant surprise and massive thanks are due to the organisers, customers, managers Jackie and Brian Lewis, and of course the bands Abigail's Mercy, Obsidian Rain, Left For Red and Dead Time, who are performing free of charge to support our cause. All four bands are well known locally and more info and music samples can be found on You Tube, My Space and Facebook.
The event takes place on Sunday 2nd May, commencing at 7pm. Free admission. Funds will be raised by donation buckets being passed around after each group has performed. Do come and support if you can.
The book Tales From A Churchyard, St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley Volume 1 by Chris Smith will also be on sale at the event, and our current appeals leaflet and membership forms will be available.
Support helpers are also needed for the evening if anyone can come along.
Ye Olde Foundry Pub is in King Street, Dudley, formerly known as 'The Old Vic'.
PRESERVATION GROUP OFFICE/DROP IN CENTRE
You may recall from our last bulletin that we were trying to decide whether or not to take over the former St Thomas's Network Charity Shop in High View Street, Kates Hill (now closed down).
We have in fact agreed to take on space in The Old School House next door to St John's Church in St John's Road. The Old School House has been our address since 2007 but until now was just an address - there was no space attached to it. The reason we have taken this option is 1) Less refurbishment work needed 2) It is our address anyway 3) Even closer to the church 4) Will be easier to keep warm 5) More space available to rent should we need it 6) The rent is just very slightly cheaper although that was not the deciding factor.
We do not rule out taking over the Charity Shop premises as well later on if they were needed, and we have discussed this with the landlord so that he is aware of the situation.
One of our members has given us a £2000 gift to help us trial the The Old School House office/drop in. We are trying very hard not to touch that money as if we can manage without it we can put the funds to the feasibility or waterproofing appeals instead.
OPEN DAY
We have only had the keys for a few days but we are working flat out to be able to hold an initial OPEN DAY at the new office/drop in on MONDAY 10TH MAY. Call in anytime between 11am and 7pm. Refreshments will be available and we'd like to hear your ideas about what you'd like to see us doing there. Author of Tales From A Churchyard, St John's, Kates Hill, Dudley, Volume 1 Chris Smith will also be attending to collect any more history stories for Volume 2 and to discuss the possibility of a major St John's Church community history project.
Actual regular opening hours will be notified once we have established volunteer cover - we'd like to aim for seven days a week eventually. If you can help please get in touch.
HOW WE WILL FUND IT
We hope to not only cover the costs of the new premises but also to boost fundraising and contact with supporters by having a base. We need to ask you to donate the following but please don't leave anything outside the door when we aren't there:
Clothes, linens, shoes, handbags, soft toys - all of these can be in any condition good or bad. Recycling is a good way of raising funds at the present market rate. Books and bric a brac Used printer ink cartridges Old mobile telephones Loose change Jewellery - any sort, broken or complete Tombola prizes - especially bottles, gift sets, cosmetics, stationery, sweets and biscuits
The office/drop in will develop over a period of time - we have many ideas to put to people but above all that we want to hear from local people what they would like to see. In addition to the fundraising, we hope to start off, in a small way, some of the activities which will be eventually be destined to be carried on in the re-opened St John's Church.
We have put on attachment a picture showing the location of the drop in centre in relation to St John's - as you will see they are only yards apart. Church - School - Drop In.
ROSE NEEDS WICKER BASKETS AND CONTENTS
Rose makes us the most amazing tombola prizes but needs the following - wicker baskets, small cosmetic items, teddys, pretty mugs and large cups and saucers, coffee or drink sachets, clean dried flowers, clean little ornaments, unused gift bags. Please bring them to the office/drop in.
GLYPHOSATE APPEAL
Grounds helpers are needed again now and also donations of GLYPHOSATE weedkiller - any make but we have found Bayer the best (although it is the most expensive). Own brands eg Wilkinson/B&Q also do the job. Please bring to the Office/Drop In and also get in touch if you can help on the grounds. We need someone who can MEND THE PETROL STRIMMERS if anyone has any contacts. We only have one out of three working at the moment.
SECOND EDITION OF VOLUME 1, TALES FROM A CHURCHYARD, ST JOHN'S CHURCH, KATES HILL, DUDLEY by CHRIS SMITH
We had a launch event for the second edition at the Quality Hotel, Dudley sponsored by Quality Hotel and Village Voice magazine on 20th April. This was a very successful event which raised £100 towards funds and the books are now available from Quality Hotel reception Black Country Bugle bookshop, High Street, Cradley Heath Dudley Archive Service Tiwana Supermarket (by St John's Church, open 7 days) From the Preservation Group Dudley Market stall every Saturday From the Preservation Group office/drop in, St John's Road, Kates HillMail order from the Preservation Group The book continues to receive rave reviews from readers. Volume 2 is being researched at present and is expected to be completed towards the end of this year.
CARL CHINN BEREAVEMENT
Finally we ask you to spare a thought for our patron Dr Carl Chinn who lost his Father to cancer during the last week. We have extended our most sincere condolences to Carl and his family on behalf of the Preservation Group. Carl has been patron of St John's Church Preservation Group since we formed in 2007.
Our very good friend local historian and author Ned Williams is launching his latest book 'Brierley Hill (Brockmoor, Bromley and Pensnett)' this evening at 7pm for 7.30pm. Venue Brierley Hill Methodist Church, Bank Street, Brierley Hill (opposite the Civic Centre). There will be a slide show and refreshments. The new book will be on sale at launch price of £10 each. This is volume 1 of the Brieley Hill series, Volume 2 covering central Brierley Hill, Round Oak, Merry Hill, Quarry Bank, Mill Street, The Delph, Silver End and Hawbush will be released later.
If you are unable to attend the launch but would like a copy of this or any of Ned's books you can contact him direct on 01902 773376 weekdays and 0121 550 5943 at weekends, or by email nedwilliams@toucansurf.com
Copies of Dudley Rediscovered by Ned Williams which features St John's Church, St John's Church Preservation Group and Kates Hill will also be available at £10 each.
Ned has also most generously offered us space at this event for our most recently published book Tales From a Churchyard, St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley, Volume 1, by Chris Smith (featuring the Tipton Slasher, Hansons Beer, James Whale, Marion Richardson, Mary Ann Mason) which will be on sale at £7.50 each, all proceeds to St John's Church Preservation Group. This book is also on sale direct from us at our drop in centre in the Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, or from our stall on Dudley Market on Saturdays, from the Black Country Bugle bookshop in High Street, Cradley Heath, from the reception at the Quality Hotel, Dudley, from Tiwana supermarket in High View Street, Kates Hill, and from Malcolms, Watsons Green Road, Kates Hill.
ON THE HOME RUN TO GET THE FIRST FUNDING APPEALS FINISHED OFF
We need to ask everyone to help us as much you can to finish off the first funding appeals so that we can get repair work on the church building started.
Appeal 1 £5000 for the Lightning Conductor
£5000 grant received from Dudley Council Central Area Funds Committee. The quotes have been obtained and the specifications are now being checked. We thank Dudley Council and the members of the Central Area Funds Comittee for this grant.
Appeal 2 £10,000 for the Feasibility Study 'The Future For St John's Church'. The Diocese of Worcester have made a grant of £2000 towards this study. In addition to this the St John's Parochial Church Council have obtained a further grant of £5000 from the Church Urban Fund towards the study. The remaining £3000 has been raised by St John's Church Preservation Group and the feasibility study is now being prepared and will start soon. We especially thank Archdeacon of Dudley Fred Trethewey for his help in obtaining these grants and all the other church personnel locally and at Worcester and of course the Church Urban Fund.
Appeal 3 £16,000 for the waterproofing works - to carry out essential roof repairs, replace and repair the guttering and down pipes, reseal the windows. This is to avoid any further water damage. Raised: £11,000. Still needed to be able to instruct the architect and get the scaffolding up - £5000.
How you can help: Donations can be sent to St John's Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley, West Midlands, DY2 7JT.Please donate as many good quality tombola prizes and bottles as you can, we need these desperately every week. On a good week our Saturday tombola stall on Dudley market can raise £150 - £170 but we need at least 100 donated prizes per week to achieve this. Prizes can be brought to the market or dropped off at The Old School House during the week. Other arrangements can also be made, telephone 0787 119 5042. We are collecting many other items which can be used to raise funds - please bring clothes, bric a brac, books, used printer ink cartridges, gold jewellery, old mobile telephones to The Old School House Purchase copies of Tales From A Churchyard by Chris Smith - all proceeds to St John's Church Preservation Group Collect your loose change and bring it to us Organise a coffee morning or any other event you can think of as a fundraiser Print off the attached flyer and distribute to friends, family and colleagues
If we all work hard on achieving this last £5000 the scaffolding will soon be going up and we will HAVE A PARTY.
KATES HILL FUN RUN WEDNESDAY 7TH JULY GREEN PARK, WATSONS GREEN ROAD, KATES HILL ENTER FROM 5PM RUN STARTS 7PM
St John's Church Preservation Group supporting the St Thomas's Community Games with a fun fundraising sporting event
All the forms for this event have been put on attachment.
Please support this event - all funds raised go towards our last £5000 needed as above, so come along and spectate even if you can't enter the run.
This is a FUN event, open to children and adults. Extra prizes for those running in fancy dress. Maximum distance if all eight laps of the park completed is 2.12 miles.
Prizes will be given out by 'Blind' Dave Heeley (The blind marathon runner who ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days) at a special awards ceremony in Dudley Town Hall on Friday 9th July.
We also need helpers from 5pm, get in touch if you can help - email savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk or ring 0787 119 5042.
Family Fun Day, Green Park, Kates Hill, Saturday 3rd July.
If anyone could help man a stall for us please contact 0787 119 5042 urgently or email on savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk. We would like to have a presence at this event if we can.
Finally, listen to the Carl Chinn BBC Radio WM show 95.6FM on Sunday 11th July. Dr Carl Chinn is our patron and will be interviewing Deb Brownlee of St John's Church Preservation Group on that day. You can listen online or if you miss the show you can use the listen again facility.
PRESERVATION GROUP COMMITTEE (MANAGEMENT) MEETINGS
We have agreed that our committee meetings will in future be on open invite to guests as we wish to be as inclusive as possible and gain continuous fresh input to the group.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 7th September at the Ex Servicemens Club, Hall Street, Dudley. Arrive from 7pm with a view to a 7.15pm start.
The main purpose of this meeting is to discuss the questionnaire that will be used for the feasibility study "The Future For St John's Church". It is absolutely essential that we get the questionnaire right, as the results of this survey will determine the proposal that will be put to the Church Commissioners. The meeting may involve breaking into groups for discussion purposes and to try out versions of the questionnaire. By the end of this meeting we aim to have the questionnaire agreed, as the study is already several weeks behind schedule.
We will also need volunteers to take the questionnaires to local households and fetch them back a day or so later and weask anyone interested to get in touch or leave their details at the meeting. We need a minute taker for this and all meetings - the post of secretary is currently vacant, if you can assist please get in touch.
Agenda for a meeting of St John's Church Preservation Group Tuesday 7th September 2010 7pm Ex Servicemen's Club, Hall Street, Dudley
1. Opening Prayer and Intercession Prayers (Those not wishing to participate please abstain) 2. Apologies 3. Treasury Report 4. Feasibility study 4.1 Questionnaires 7. Any Other Business 8. Date of next meeting 9. Lords Prayer
Please do come along to this meeting and help us to move this project forward.
A RECAP ON WHAT THE PRESERVATION GROUP AIMS TO DO
We aim to prevent St John's Church from being demolished or sold off
We aim to get it restored, brought up to modern standards and re-opened as an Anglican place of Christian worship so that weddings, funerals, christenings and regular worship can all resume.
We believe that the building can be used for many different types of Anglican Christian worship, from traditional to modern, and at different days and times to suit local requirements.
We further believe that the St John's Church building can be used as a community facility in many other ways, and by all people regardless of faith.
We acknowledge that the building has to be financially sustainable.
FUNDING SITUATION
Following a donation of £3000 from former parishioner Mr Richard Whitehouse, a loose change collection of £244.27 and other earned and donated income we have now raised £28,550 of the initial £31,000 appeal figure. This includes £7000 obtained by the St John's Parochial Church Council and the Diocese of Worcester, and £5000 from Dudley Council Central Area Committee.
We urge everyone to do what they can to help us raise the last £2450.
We need: Donations - cheques can be made payable to St John's Church Preservation Group or donations can be paid straight into the bank HSBC, account number 52008637 sort code 40-19-28.
Clothes, shoes, handbags, good quality bric a brac Tombola prizes especially bottles
Used printer ink cartridges
Old mobile telephones
Gold jewellery
Wicker baskets and small items cosmetics/toiletries
Non perishable groceries and shoe boxes (to make up hamper tombola prizes)
Empty coffee jars and any sort of container that can be labelled up as a loose change container
Please collect your loose change
BRAINTEASER PUBLICATION
Village Voice magazine are producing a book of their popular 'Brainteasers' to help raise money for St John's Church Preservation Group.
The book will retail at just 50p, and on a print run of 2000 will raise £1000 for funds.
Advertisers are needed to help fund the printing costs. If you run a business, large or small, and could support us by taking an advertisement in the book, please contact Gail on 01384 866688 or by email to villagevoice@hotmail.co.uk
To get an idea of the quality of the booklet and to sample some Brainteasers go to the website
The Brainteaser book will be sold at outlets around Dudley, Stourbridge, Wollaston, Brierley Hill, Kingswinford, Sedgley, Gornal, and Wombourne, and of course the Preservation Group drop in and from our Saturday stall on Dudley Market.
Advertisements start from just £20 and you will be really helping our cause by supporting this publication, and at the same time gaining promotion for your business.
To support us through this publication contact Gail on 01384 866688 or by email to villagevoice@hotmail.co.uk
TALES FROM A CHURCHYARD, ST JOHN'S, KATES HILL, DUDLEY, Volume 1 BY CHRIS SMITH
The combination of book sales and talks and tours given by author Chris Smith has now reached just over £1000, a magnificent achievement and more talks are booked. If you run a group or association and would like Chris to be a speaker please get in touch. His illustrated talks on St John's and amusing and informed delivery are becoming quite legendary, and as new information comes out of our research almost daily, never the same twice.
If you have not yet purchased your copy of Tales From a Churchyard, stockists are:
Black Country Bugle shop, High Street, Cradley (now back in stock) Reception, Quality Hotel, Dudley St John's Church Preservation Group drop in centre, St John's Road, open Monday to Friday 9.30-4.30pm and weekends by arrangement St John's Church Preservation Group market stall, Dudley, Saturdays Tiwana, High View Street, Kates Hill (open seven days) Dudley Archive, Coseley Malcolm's, Watsons Green Road, Kates Hill Mail order send £8.99 to St John's Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley, West Midlands, DY2 7JT
DROP IN CENTRE VOLUNTEERS
Following numerous appeals and networking by our existing volunteers, new helpers have now come forward, but we need more. This is a huge project, entirely volunteer run, and only people power will see it through to a successful conclusion.
This means EVERYONE pulling together and doing their bit. Whilst we do need regular helpers, a small time commitment of even 2 hours a month can make a difference to our rotas.
Please don't wait to be personally asked GET IN TOUCH. Join the team now and help us drive this forward.
email: savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk Telephone/text 0787 119 5042 Facebook message through Save St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley
COMMONWEALTH GRAVES RESEARCH
We are planning an event for Remembrance Day this year based around the eleven Commonwealth Graves at St John's. We are seeking relations of or information regarding these names:
John ASTON
G. CHEAL
J. COX
Simon Harry EVANS
Private Benjamin GUEST
Fred GUEST
Howard Geoffrey HARRISON
Frederick HARROLD
Harold HUGHES
Alfred LANE
John Thomas SILVERS
To see photographs of the graves and the details held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission use this useful link
Please get in touch if you have any information no matter how minor.
RECENTLY FOUND.............a fabulous store of pictures of St John's, including of the stained glass windows (some of which are currently removed) - check out
We are finally able to bring you the moment we have worked for - at 10am on Wednesday 16th February work begins on the St John's Church building.
A Lightning Conductor will be fitted, and essential repairs carried out to drains prior to repairing the guttering and downpipes.
Please read the copy of the press release below for more detail, and if at all possible come along and join us on the day.
If you are able to attend you may wish to:
Bring party poppers/party horns for after the countdown Contribute towards the refreshments afterwards eg bring some tea/coffee/long life milk/cakes/sandwiches Dress in Victorian style
We very much hope you will be able to come along and share this historic moment with us, and may I on behalf of St John's Church Preservation Group thank each of you who have done anything at all to help us with this over the last almost four years.
Many thanks,
Deb
Deb Brownlee Chair, St John's Church Preservation Group www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com facebook Save St John's Church, Kates Hill, Dudley and StJohnschurch PreservationGroup
WORK TO START ON HISTORIC CHURCH
After almost four years of fundraising and discussions repair work will finally start on St John's Church, Kates Hill.
The moment will be marked with a community countdown with everyone who has any interest in the St John's campaign, or who simply wants to see history being made in Dudley as the 170 year old church building begins the long journey back to restoration being invited to come along and share the moment. St John's Church was closed in November 2002 following safety fears, although subsequent reports have deemed the structure to be sound and repairable.
Two local companies will start the work on the church building. Elcock and Wood steeplejacks of Stourbridge will fit a pulsar lightning conductor to the tower roof which will provide lightning protection for the whole of the building. The cost of this work is around £5000 and this has been funded by a grant from Dudley Council Central Area Fund. On the same day and at the same time Carpvale Ltd, site and drain investigation specialists, of Wombourne will carry out clearance work to the Victorian soakaway drains around the church, including removal of debris and vegetation, flushing through the drains and monitoring flow and providing a plan and report. This work will cost around £500 and will be funded by St John's Church Preservation Group.
Deb Brownlee chair of St John's Church Preservation Group "We and our loyal supporters have waited a long time for this moment, but here we are at last and this is just the start. Hopefully the waterproofing works will be next and we have also just agreed in the St John's Church Steering Group chaired by the Archdeacon of Dudley to employ an architect to draw up plans for the restoration of the Lychgate."
Everyone interested in witnessing the start of the work is invited to come along to St John's Church for 10am on Wednesday 16th February. A look alike for the architect of St John's in 1838, William Bourne will inspect the plans for the works to his church and there will be people in Victorian dress. There will be a countdown and people are asked to bring party poppers and party horns. Afterwards there will be refreshments which have been donated by wellwishers. BBC Radio WM is broadcasting the event live.
Deb Brownlee"We hope loads of people will come along, local residents and children, and people from other areas but who have connections to St John's. This is a very historic moment for Kates Hill, Dudley and the Black Country, and we'd like as many people as possible to come and share this moment with us."
Dr Carl Chinn, patron of the Preservation Group, "The group and their supporters have never wavered in their belief that against all the odds St John's will be restored and re-opened and I am delighted to see the dream starting to come true. I am immensely proud to be patron of the St John's Church Preservation Group and they have set a shining example for other groups to follow".
The Archdeacon of Dudley The Ven Fred Trethewey "We on Steering Group are very pleased that steps can now be taken towards protecting the building from water and lightning damage. There is still much to be done and we are continuing to explore the feasibility of more extensive work that could open up the building for the benefit of the whole community".
Anyone requiring further information or would like to get involved with helping the group can contact St John's Church Preservation Group email savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk or by visiting the groups drop in centre in St John's Road, Kates Hill.
Donations towards ongoing works can be sent to St John's Church Preservation Group, the Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley, DY2 7JT
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO IMPROVE AND DEVELOP THE PRESERVATION GROUP
We need more helpers for us to grow and move the Preservation Group on. We've achieved a lot in four years - cleared the grounds, got the church building Grade II listed, raised enough money to start some of the restoration work and opened our drop in centre next door to the church. This has all been done by local volunteers giving their time freely.
Many people have helped, but now we need many more people to come forward and offer more help. Anyone from age 16 can be a helper, and younger children can come with their parents. There's no upper age limit and you don't need to have done anything similar before - none of us had.
We will be running a series of meetings where anyone who would like to know a bit more about becoming a volunteer helper can simply come along to get information, without any obligation whatsoever. The format will be a brief tour of the grounds followed by refreshments, chat and question and answer session in our drop in centre next door to the church. If you are personally unable to help please ask around friends and family and see if anyone else could and send them along - for any further information our email address is savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk
You may be surprised at just what a great help you could be, even if you don't have much time.
We are also seeking people on secondments and company taskforces.
The first session is THIS SUNDAY 20th March from 2.30pm until 4pm. Meet at the Lychgate outside the church if the weather is fine, and we'll go straight on the tour, or come to the drop in centre next door if it is raining, signs will be out to show you where to go.
COMMITTEE MEETING
Preservation Group committee meetings are open to guests. We believe in transparency and being welcoming to new ideas and new people.
Next meeting: Tuesday 22nd March, 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Venue The Ex Servicemen's Club, Hall Street, Dudley. The meeting will finish at 9pm.
Please come and join us, you will be most welcome.
REIKI MASTER OFFERS HELP WITH FUNDRAISING
Reiki Master Michael Wilkes has offered to give three Reiki sessions in our drop in centre on Thursday 24th March. The appointments are 6.30pm, 7.10pm and 7.50pm. The fee will be £10 which will be donated to St John's Church Preservation Group. To book one of the appointments email savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk but we do require payment in advance to secure the booking.
This is a chance to receive Reiki at a very low price and at the same time help with our fundraising.
Michael is also one of our regular volunteers.
FM COSMETICS SALE AT THE DROP IN
The drop in centre is available for party plan, and on WEDNESDAY 30TH MARCH AT 7PM it will be the turn of FM COSMETICS. Their website is http://uk2.fmgroup.dega.com.pl/
Ideally timed for Mothers Day on the following Sunday, all the commission from sales on this occasion will be donated to St John's Church Preservation Group.
Please just come along, and bring a friend, refreshments will be provided throughout the evening.
BRAINTEASERS
The Brainteasers quiz and puzzle book, sponsored by local companies and compiled by Chris and Gail Smith of community magazine Village Voice, is now on sale in the following places:
Our drop in centre, St John's Road, open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm From us on Dudley market every Saturday From Ella's Cafe in the Plaza Mall, Dudley
From the Black Country Bugle office on Cradley Heath High Street From Tiwana in High View Street, Kates Hill From the Leisure Complex in the Copthorne Hotel, Merry Hill Priced at just 50p, the whole price comes to us for our funds. 2000 were printed so once sold we should have raised £1000 BUILDING UPDATE
The Lightning Conductor will be completed at around 10am on Monday 21st March subject to weather. You are invited to go along and take pictures as the 'final screws go in' and then have a cuppa in the drop in.
If there is any change to this arrangement Ian Wood the 'Lightning Conductor man' will let us know and we will post it on facebook and on our website.
Other than that, come along and witness the completion of the first step of the restoration.
DRAINS: All new soakaways recommended, plans submitted to St John's Church Steering Group, now awaiting comment from English Heritage and St John's Parochial Church Council. LYCHGATE RESTORATION: Local fundraising to start plus a bid for some of the cost to Heritage Lottery Fund - they have expressed an interest in seeing a proposal but approve very greatly of local community involvement, the more the better
WATERPROOFING: Drains to be done first, and firm quotes to be obtained for the roof and guttering work following a revision to the works on advice from the drains company
TREES: The eight lime trees along the front of the church have grown too big and are pushing the wall over. Dudley Council will carry out necessary work to curtail the root growth, and repair the wall. This work will not start immediately, but should be completed within twelve months. Various permissions have to be obtained first.
ACCESS TO THE INSIDE OF THE BUILDING: Still no details regarding why insurance cannot be re-instated and we have urged for a speedy response. FEASIBILITY STUDY: Brief revised to stay within budget and Brownhill Hayward Brown now working on new workplan.
COMING SOON............
Midnight tour of the graveyard with author of Tales From A Churchyard, St John's, Kates Hill, Chris Smith. Followed by supper in the drop in centre. Admission by prepaid ticket only at £20 per head, very limited places. This is an opportunity for a very unique experience. The date will be in May/June. To reserve a place email savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk All proceeds to our funds. Please note this is not a ghost hunt, these are actual, amazing, historically verified and factual stories about real people who lived in the area, but also we hope, thought provoking and entertaining.
The launch of 'Open Mind' a discussion and learning forum for all matters spiritual in the broadest sense. Starting with a Psychic Development Masterclass with Philip Solomon on Thursday 28th April from 7pm. Intensive tuition with a renowned expert in this field. Will be held at our drop in centre. Very limited numbers and places available by prepayment only £20 per person. Refreshments provided. All Open Mind proceeds will go to our funds.
In both cases call in to the drop in centre Monday to Friday to pay, or send a cheque payable to St John's Church Preservation Group, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley, DY2 7JT
NEW JOHNIANS drama group - we are seeking actors from the age of 12 years (no upper limit) experienced or learners. Rehearsals will be on Friday nights at the drop in centre at 7pm. Director is Phill Liptrot.
TALES FROM A CHURCHYARD by Chris Smith has just been reprinted for the fifth time, copies now available in our drop in centre, in Tiwana's, at the Quality Hotel reception, at Dudley Archive, Black Country Bugle office, from the Black Country Living Museum shop or from us on Dudley market on Saturdays. Mail order price £8.99p.
All proceeds to our funds.
WILLENHALL CARNIVAL QUEEN 2011 STACEY SENIORS SUPPORTING ST JOHN'S CHURCH PRESERVATION GROUP
We went 'over the border' to a event in Bloxwich on 13th March and were made very welcome.
