Lead Thefts at Cottingham

Wednesday, 10^th February 2010

News from the Parish of St. Mary the Virgin, Cottingham

Thieves and Vandals leave St. Mary’s Church with £50,000 bill

Following the theft of tens of thousands of pounds worth of lead from the roof of St. Mary’s Church in Cottingham, Father Paul Smith is calling for local people to be vigilant and help prevent further thefts, warning that the community may have to bear the cost of repairs.

St. Mary’s Church in Cottingham has been a place of worship at the centre of the village for over six-hundred years. Despite this long and important history, St. Mary’s congregation has had to face disruption while repairs and improvements to security after attacks by vandals and thieves. But the sheer volume of attacks has meant that Church insurers are no longer willing to pay for repairs and have told the congregation that they may have find money to pay for the damage themselves.

Father Paul Smith, the Rector of St. Mary’s said, “Early on Sunday morning we discovered that lead had been stolen from our roof for the fourth time in twelve months. This is despite the security lighting, the extensive CCTV system in the village and the razor wire that has been installed to deter and catch thieves.

“Our Church is an historic and important landmark in the village, but some of the lead is, itself, historic: the oldest dating from 1634.  Recent thefts and vandalism to our property has run into five-figures, but to rectify the damage from these latest incidents and to work toward preventing more thefts will mean that the bills for criminal damage stand at £47,000.

“Loss of lead means leaks and damage to the interior of the building. The church is used for worship daily, 365 days a year, and provides an invaluable service to the community.  Local schools use the Church for lessons, and we host many weddings and public events each year.  It’s not just the church congregation who suffer when theft and vandalism occurs, it’s the whole community, and so I’m asking people to keep their eyes open, and report anything suspicious to Humberside Police on 0845 6060222 or, if they believe a theft to be in progress, to dial 999.”

Notes to editors:

For further information or images, contact Father Paul Smith on 01482 847668 or Father Oliver Coss on 01482 840896

Lent Appeal 2010

CMS Tanzanian Anglican Youth Organisation (TAYO)

Small Loans Project

Money is needed to finance the continuation of the Project. Small loans are given to Youth Groups, usually youth choirs attached to churches, in order to provide self- funding.

Drop a pebble in the pool of youth choirs and the ripples of success spread in an amazing way.

Example: TAYO – LOAN – CHOIR – Bought good seeds – kept one-third to plant a vegetable garden, gave one-third to some individual choir members, gave one-third to local people outside the choir.

Result: Choir – food – sale of surplus – plus vegetables from the local people’s vegetable plots = repayment of loan, purchase of musical instruments, and donation to the church. Individual members – food – sale of surplus – able to pay for children’s education and family necessities. Local people – food – and encouragement to continue their gardens, from which they would benefit personally.

The Youth Development Officer responsible for setting up and running the project is an unpaid CMS Mission Partner. Her Assistant is Tanzanian and earns a small wage. Funds are so low now that the future of the project is in jeopardy.

Taririo Youth Project, Zimbabwe

from Carl Melville – Founder of the Project

In July 2009, I went to Zimbabwe to begin and open a new home for teenage orphans, Tariro House, under a new charity called Tariro Youth Project. The Community of the Resurrection are fully supporting this project.
It is a house for teenage orphans who otherwise would not have a home, food, school or education. This is an age range that the government has neglected for years. Also, teenagers often have to leave orphanages and care homes when they reach teenage years, leaving them on the streets, homeless or returning back to abusive parents or relatives.

There are over 1.5 million orphans in Zimbabwe, so there is lots of work to be getting on with!

Christ is Risen – Music for Eastertide

 

The Camerata at a recent performance at Howden Minster

On Saturday 25th April, at 7.30pm, the Hallgate Camerata will be performing a selection of pieces in honour of the Great Feast of Easter. 

About the Camerata

The Camerata was founded at the end of 2007 from some of the members of the Choir of St. Mary’s Church, Cottingham and gave their debut perfomance at St. Mary’s in 2008 perfoming a programme of music for Passiontide including works by Sir Edward Bairstow and Gregorio Allegri.

Since their formation, this group of talented singers has given performances at Cottingham, Skidby, Gardon-in-Holderness, and Howden Minster. Under the expert baton of Julian Savory, Master of the Music at St. Mary’s, they return to Cottingham in 2009 to present an evening of music for Eastertide. The programme will include music from the ancient rites of the Easter Vigil, William Byrd’s ‘Mass for Four Voices’, C. V. Stanford’s arrangement of the ‘Te Deum’ in B-flat, the Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni, solos and other partsongs for Easter, culminating in Benjamin Britten’s great work, ‘Rejoice in the Lamb’.

Tickets, priced £5, are available on the door and includes refreshments after the performance.

The Camerata at a recent performance at Howden Minster

Julian Savory