Maidenhead United Reformed Church

SANCTUARY FLOORING

At the church meeting on 15th January it was agreed that we would take the option to cover the aisles and all the exposed floor with a specially thick laminated board. In addition the carpeting at the rear of the church will be replaced with tiles to match those on the dais.
This option was preferred to the option of supporting and carpeting the aisles.
The cost of the chosen option is approximately £13,000. With tax relief and with a little of our reserves the cost comes down to about £140 per member. As all of the pews will have to be lifted there will be quite a bit of disruption. The ones at the side will have to be reduced slightly in height so that they still fit into the panelling. The target date for the work is August.
We will have to face the emotive question of pews versus chairs and any compromises on which we can agree. This should probably wait till the May church meeting when we know more about the process and we know whether or not we have the funds to proceed.
Funds can be raised in many ways but even if we had concerts and jumble sales every week till August it would not be enough. Margaret Taylor has said that as the price of gold is high then contributions of unwanted gold jewellery could be valuable. Bill Nightingale has also sold items on eBay in the past and would be happy to do so again. If you have miscellaneous heirlooms stagnating in the attic this may be an opportunity to contribute and declutter at the same time. If you want to do either of these, please let me know and we will coordinate it. Don’t bring things to the church until we are sure that we are ready.
There is always the option of giving under gift aid and I received £140 from this within 5 minutes of the end of the meeting !
Thanking you in anticipation,
Gordon Campbell