Thank you all for coming to this first Annual General Meeting of the Friends of St Mary’s, Atherington. It seems strange to say that this is our first AGM since we have been working together as a group of Friends since 2000 but, after several ‘hiccups’ along the way, we were finally registered as an official charity on 25th April last year.
I think this has given us fresh momentum to complete the enormous task we set ourselves 9 years ago. The first thing I must say is a big thank you all for sticking with us and for your support both financially and may I say ‘spiritually’. For I do believe that this is a God-given task and we are all working hard to have our ‘sweet sounding bells’ ringing again to His glory as they have for our ‘Atherington’ community over the last few centuries.
We are, your Trustees believe, almost at the point where we can formally commission the builders (Carreks) and bellhangers (Taylors, Eayre and Smith) to begin the work. Whilst we still have more to raise towards our target £80000 to complete the restoration, we have had several promises of funds (around £12000 to date) and are still ‘waiting to hear’ from several larger charities.
If you have any questions please do put them now, and let us all go forward as a united group of Friends so that 2009 will be the year in which Atherington Bells ring again.
John Carvosso (Chair of Trustees), 1 June 2009