Friends of St Mary's

Friends of St Mary's Events

Thursday 13th June 2019, 10.00am - 12.30:                                   Cafe Francais, Warren Room, East Preston Village Hall

At last year's East Preston Festival, the Friends of St. Mary's ran 'Le Café Français' in the Village Hall.  This proved to be a convivial occasion and a successful fundraising event.

If you missed it last year (or wish to repeat an enjoyable rendez-vous with friends) you will have the opportunity to savour delicious pastries and fresh coffee (or tea) on Thursday 13th June from 10.00 until noon.

Please come and experience a continental atmosphere in the heart of East Preston. Be assured of  'un accueil chaleureux' ( warm welcome)

12th - 15th December 2019

The ever-popular Christmas Tree Festival, open to the public from Thursday 12th through to Sunday 15th December.

Formation of the Friends of St Mary's

Early in 2006 Saint Mary’s Church was in a desperate financial state with regards to a regular income and was not in a position to deal with expensive repairs to the building. The Church authorities were pursuing a plan to install a mobile phone mast in the church tower, and thus be able to attract a steady income of about £5000 per year.

The Group who were later to become the “Friends of Saint Mary’s”, were opposed to the scheme and so started a lively campaign to oppose it. In the end, it was agreed that there would not be a mobile phone mast on the tower, but that the Church was a vital focal point in the village, and must be kept in a good state of preservation for all to enjoy.

Although many of the original group were not part of the St Mary's congregation, they volunteered their services to the Church to help preserve the church building. So “The Friends of Saint Mary’s” came into being with the specific objective of spearheading the financing of the restoration and maintenance of the building, rather than to add to the general church funds.