Update on Royston Parish Church
Since our last update, much work has been carried out, with continuing steady progress on the final phase of the restoration/refurbishment, although there has been some slippage in the programme which is now targeting completion in August.
The main work which has been completed in the last couple of months is the laying of the York stone paving throughout the nave of the church. The result is that we now have a stunning new floor which not only enhances the light within the church but, as it has been raised, also provides a more wheelchair friendly access to all areas.
The installation of the LED lighting has continued as well as the provision of the electrical wiring for both the new Audio/Visual system and the new digital organ. In the case of the latter, the housing for the speakers has also been completed. The construction of the new West doors is underway as well as the new staircase to the ringing chamber and the new servery.
Although much work has been done so far, there is still some way to go before we will be able to return to our beautiful house of prayer. Nevertheless, as the date of completion approaches, excitement is growing.
Following the successful Gift Day, which we reported on in our last update, we will be holding further fundraising events in order to help cover the costs of the refurbishment. The next one is the Quiz Night which is being held at Icknield Walk First School on 9th July. Please make a note in your diaries and, more importantly, join us then with your own team. Details are on the website as to how to reserve your place.
Our other major fundraiser, the “Sponsor a Chair “ scheme, continues to attract great attention and, helped by the Gift Day, we have now received donations for, in excess of, 190 chairs.
As we have previously mentioned, once the church is handed back to us, we are planning a series of events as a “Festival of Re-opening” in which we will invite everyone in the town and all our generous donors and supporters to come and see the beautiful new space and to celebrate the church building as a hub for many exciting activities. The exact date for this is to be confirmed but is anticipated to be in the autumn, after we have had a few weeks to settle in. More information will be available in due course.
On the worship front we continue to offer two services on a Sunday with a said Eucharist at 9am followed by a sung Eucharist at 10.15am. These take place at Icknield Walk First School with both services proving popular and, despite the increase in the numbers able to attend, it remains necessary to continue with a booking system, the details of which are on our website. We also continue to live stream the 10.15am service on our Youtube channel.
The popular Tea Time Praise service on the first Sunday of the month at 3.30pm also takes place at Icknield Walk First School.
