Calendar Church News

St John's Church on Sudbrooke Drive in Lincoln is hosting a concert today to celebrate being 50 years old. The Diocesan Ladies Choir will be among the performers taking part. The organisers will also be introducing a variety of events they have planned for 2013. It starts at 5pm.

• UK
• Lincoln
• Church

Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal is to visit St Botolph's Church in Boston today to formally open its new Community and Visitor facilities and to view progress on the restoration of the North Face of the Tower.

After driving through the Market Place she will arrive at the north door of the church at 3.40pm where she will attend a short service of dedication led by the Bishop of Lincoln, tour the new facilities, unveil a plaque, and view the restoration work underway on the north face of the tower.

• UK
• Princess Royal
• Boston

A painting of St George's Church in Doncaster is going to be conserved.

It was created by local artist James Farrington in 1896, 30 years after the church was completed.

Due its condition the public have not been able to view the painting for many years, but the Woodmansterne Art Conservation award of just £5,000 will help it be restored. It will then go on display at Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery.

• UK
• Doncaster
• painting

When a computer company heard that a parish church in Castleford were short of an organist, they offered up a laptop, kitted out with a specialist programme which plays their organ for them.

• UK
• religion
• church

Parishioners at a Castleford church are using a computer programme to play their organ, after struggling to recruit a new organist when theirs retired.

They say that the computer programme is far superior to singing along to CDs.

• UK
• religion
• church

The Government has agreed extra money to ease concerns about VAT being added to church repairs.

It says it cannot maintain zero rated VAT for alterations, but a grant has been set up to assist with repair work.

However, the Dean of Wakefield's wife, Pamela Greener, says the £30 million extra a year does not go far enough. She wants the church to join with other heritage buildings to keep the campaign for zero rating on all Big Society buildings, not just church or other faith buildings.

The plan to charge VAT on alterations to listed buildings has brought Wakefield Cathedral's regeneration scheme into serious jeopardy.

It would be churlish not to welcome the government's increased funding following their shock budget tax raid on the nation's heritage. At Wakefield Cathedralwe are in agony with worry over this issue and volunteer groups up and down the land felt similarly let down by the budget.

Churches form an important part of the nation's heritage, but they don't have amonopoly over it. This proposal offers short term church relief en route to long termchurch uncertainty accompanied by immediate additional expense for everyone else.

• UK
• VAT
• church

A campaign has been launched to protect churches across our region from the increasing threat of metal theft. Last year was the worst on record for lead and copper being stolen from roofs and inside church premises. Now the clergy are fighting back.

• UK
• metal
• church

Leeds and North Yorkshire churches are leading a national campaign to fit church roof alarms to stop criminals from stealing lead. Several churches in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds have had roof alarms fitted to some of the most at-risk churches in the area.

All churches in the diocese will display signs warning criminals of the presence of roof alarms. Because the alarm sensors are virtually undetectable from the ground, criminals will be unable to tell which churches are protected. Details of the alarms and their locations are not being revealed.

The campaign will continue to be rolled out to other dioceses across the country throughout 2012 until most of the 42 mainland English dioceses and a number of Scottish and Welsh dioceses are alarmed.

• UK
• theft
• church