UPDATE: A big thank you to those who have signed up to sit in church for an hour for the Saturday of the Ride and Stride Appeal. It is a huge encouragement to walkers, cyclists and others if they turn up at a church and there is someone available to sign their forms. More names will make it even better. You will be helping out those congregations who have to meet the hefty repair bills that come with maintaining beautiful but costly church buildings.
We have recently had to hire a giant cherry-picker to look at the roof of the church as part of the Quinquennial inspection of the building. It was not cheap. It might possibly have damaged the manhole we then had to pay to repair. But in comparison to some of the older churches around, our expenses are light. That is why the diocese encourages Ride and Stride. Participants walk, cycle, ride a horse or a mobility scooter and visit as many churches as they can in one day.
This is all done by sponsorship. We have never had many people doing the travelling, but we try to provide people to sign the forms of those who are. For many congregations it is great a way of tackling the big maintenance bills they face on old structures.
If anyone can help for an hour or two on 10th September there is a form in the foyer.