'Treasure By The Thames, Transforming Lives'

St Nicholas launches its development appeal, kicking off with a Summer Sizzler BBQ

St Nicholas Church has officially launched its £1.1m Development Appeal 2015 , entitled 'Treasure By The Thames, Transforming Lives'.

One of its first events will be the St Nick's Summer Sizzler, a South African Gourmet barbecue on Friday 12th June 6.30 pm -11.30pm at Chiswick House and Gardens. (info on booking tickets below).

The church is raising funds for the restoration of its stonework, organ, lighting, heating and construction of new facilities, as well as helping their link parish, St Simon and Jude in Southern Angola, where they hope to raise capital to build a church on the land they purchased some years ago.

Watch vicar Fr Simon Brandes talk about their plans.

The current building in Church Steet, dates largely from the 1880s (the tower is 15th century) and the site has been a centre of Christian worship for over a thousand years. The churchyard also contains some notable tombs. William Hogarth is buried in the graveyard while the remains of Oliver Cromwell's daughters are interred in the church.

Removation work is now urgently needed to restore the stonework- back in the 1920s remedial work was undertake but this exacerated much of the current deterioration. The tower stonework was repaired and restored in 2002 and it is now essential that the rest of the church's stonework be removated. The work will take about three years but on completion the church will be structurally sound for generations and its appearance restored to its former glory. Investment required is an estimated £ 475,000.

Interior renovations would include installation of toilets, including disabled access plus a small kitchen, office and storage space for archives etc. Investment required is £225,000.

The Church Organ is also in need of restoration, it was originally built in 1828 and rebuilt in 1915 and acquired from the Church of the Holy Trinity in Islington. It requires investment of £250,000. Heating and lighting updating require £150,000.

Fr Simon Brandes said that the theme of 'Treasure by the Thames' acknowledged the history and significant contribution the church community had made to the area over the years, and 'Transforming Lives' referred to the prophetic ministry and the determination of St Nicholas Church to to serve the area and the wider world.

Tickets for the Gourmet South African Barbecue are £95 a head (a table of ten is £950) and the dress code is Sophisticated Summer Chic ( ie not black tie)

Anyone wishing to attend should book and pay for tickets ASAP so the organisers can finalise names and numbers. Contact Fr Andrew on curate@stnicholaschiswick.org or give the Parish Office a call on 0208 995 7876 .

May 28, 2015