Friends of St Nicholas
Our much loved church of St Nicholas has been the focal point of life in Combe Raleigh for well over 700 years. Over the centuries generations of villagers have entered by its ancient bifold oak door to worship, give thanks, celebrate personal occasions and mark national events.
Why does St Nicholas need Friends?
The cost of maintaining our ancient Grade II Listed Building has historically been covered by donations from the congregation but as numbers declined so too has our income.
Friends are needed to help raise funds, The upkeep of churches has always fallen to the local community, as the Church of England has never had the resources to maintain the 13,000 parish churches and 43 cathedrals in England, and receives no government funding. We hope our regular and predictable subscription income from the Friends will enable us to fund the ongoing maintenance that our beautiful church building needs.
Who are the Friends
Friends are people who wish to see the church building preserved for future generations and are willing to offer financial support to maintain, repair and improve the fabric of the building and its churchyard as an asset for the whole community both now and in the future. The church building is a village asset, but without funding it will fall into disrepair and an important part of our local history will be lost. Anyone can be a Friend. There is no expectation of religious participation.
The Parish Giving Scheme and Gift Aid
Using the button below you can access the St Nicholas Church Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) and make regular or one-off gifts. The PGS automatically recovers the gift aid for us, reducing administration costs.
Regular Giving: You can set up a Direct Debit through PGS that collects your gift, Monthly, Quarterly or Annually. There are no processing fees, and you remain in control of your gift.
One-off Gift: You can use a Debit, Credit card or your Google or Apple Pay wallet to make a single one-off gift. The Parish pays a 1.5% transaction fee to cover the costs of processing.
If you are a taxpayer we encourage you to boost your subscription with Gift Aid. This will enable us to claim back an extra 25p for every £1 you donate.
How do the Friends raise money?
Friends help raise money through paying an annual subscription of at least £24 per year per household. They may also make additional donations if and when they feel able, and support church fundraising events.
How will my subscription be used?
If you registered as a Friend using the form above all subscriptions will be ‘ring-fenced’ within the church bank account so that the money can only be spent on St Nicholas Church building and churchyard or improving facilities. It will not be able to be used for religious purposes or to support the wider Church of England.