What is The Friends?
The Friends of Luton Parish Church exists to support the historic church of St. Mary's by raising money within the town and wider community of Luton, to help in maintaining the fabric of the church and enhancing its beauty for future generations. The Friends of Luton Parish Church was formed in 1965, and since inception the Charity has given more than £1m to the Parochial Church Council to pay for essential repairs and improvements to the fabric of the church.
As a charity from outside the church itself, The Friends appeals to those who are not worshippers at the Parish Church or worshippers at other churches, and who still regarded the building with affection, and important in the town. Ever since then, several members of the Executive are appointed from “outside” St. Mary’s both to act with a degree of independence from the needs of a working church, and to show that we at St. Mary’s are custodians of something whose importance extends far further than our own needs.
Put simply, the Friends help St. Mary’s face the costs of keeping our ancient building structurally sound. This means that we are able to concentrate mainly on our mission and running expenses. Without the Friends, we would be quite unable to keep the roof over our heads. We managed to raise a magnificent sum for the new heating, but most of this was from grants attracted by the “eye-catching” nature of the project. The Friends cover projects which would be far less likely to catch the public eye, such as perished stonework and roof coverings. Yet, they have spent, on our behalf, over £1million since 1965.
While it is good that Executive members come from outside St. Mary’s, we need to support the Friends from within the church, if only nominally – acknowledging the value of our building. The Friends would love to welcome more people from St. Mary’s to join as Subscribers. Way back in 1965 the minimum subscription was one guinea! This has now raised to £12 (£20 for a couple or family). You would receive a colourful annual Newsletter and can visit the expanding website with lots of fascinating documents and photos by Peter Adams. Of course, more generous annual donations are welcome. It is helpful to see that keeping our building standing as a working witness to our faith, is in itself a part of our Stewardship of God’s resources. Its warm and bright interior is set to welcome many more people over the coming years.
If you would like to join the Friends, please visit our website for details www.friendsoflutonparishchurch.org