Friends of St Andrew's

St Andrew's church family has been called together by the love of God offered through Jesus Christ. It exists to live for Jesus by renewing the heart of today's Kirk Ella by offering that same love in Christ, strengthening the family, caring for the elderly, encouraging the lonely, raising our gaze from time to eternity, and sharing God's kindness with everybody.

Since the restoration of 1860, the villagers of Kirk Ella have worshipped together in a church building that was reshaped, restored and renewed through the foresight and the vision of one generous man, Joseph Sykes.

Any building needs attention if it is going to remain sound. A building as old as St Andrew's especially so. Care must be taken with suitable materials and skilled labour to ensure that the highest standards are maintained in the care of the buildings. At the same time, the church family seek to develop the building in accordance with the needs of a modern Kirk Ella. Over the years, we have renewed the lighting system, repainted the interior of the building, refurbished the choir vestry, rebuilt the organ and installed a humidifier, repaired broken windows and added window guards, replaced the PA system, installed CCTV, replaced the heating system and reordered the interior, as well as renewing the East Window, which was last necessary in 1880. Total costs: over £200,000.

It is now clear that the St Andrew's church building costs between £10,000 and £15,000 a year to maintain, before we switch on a light bulb or turn on a radiator. For example, the organ builders have explained that we need to put away £1,000 a year for twenty years, in order to make certain that the organ is kept in good condition over the longer term. The result is that we need to put away about £40 every time we play the organ, so that we have a fully functioning organ for weddings and funerals, as well as regular services.

We think it is no longer reasonable for the regular Sunday congregations to carry the whole burden of the cost of the building, when the church building plays an important part in the lives of many more villagers than are ever present on any one Sunday.

We are not seeking an individual 'Joseph Sykes' to take full responsibility for securing the future of the church building for the next 150 years, but rather a suitable number of families or individuals with the same vision. We are looking for a number of today's villagers to invest together in tomorrow's Kirk Ella.

Many of us want the church building to remain standing for whenever we ourselves may need to make use of it.

Many more are keen simply to see that the church building remains as an attractive central feature of the heart of the village.

St Andrew's Church building, like all churches, is subject to a five year inspection regime by an architect approved by the diocese. The architect produces a Quinquennial Inspection (QI) Report, listing essential and desirable repairs over the next five year period, as well as identifying areas of the building that must be kept under close scrutiny. This report feeds into a larger ten-year rolling maintenance programme. Inevitably, the QI Report presents issues which we have not anticipated, and the costs can be quite large. To mitigate against this, it is our intention to have an interim inspection halfway between the formal inspections. We also take advice from the Ecclesiastical Insurance Company about the care of our assets, such as the organ, bells, roof and windows.

In the first instance, any money raised by the Friends of St Andrew's Kirk Ella will be spent in order to carry out the repairs listed in the QI Report. Beyond this, other items on the ten-year plan will be looked after. 

Our hope is that, by taking a pro-active approach to the maintenance of the building, we will be able to avoid any disasters that might put the building out of action for extended periods and, indeed, keep maintenance to those times when it will be least disruptive to the life of the church and community. 

There will be an Annual Reception for the Friends of St Andrew's Kirk Ella, at which the accounts will be available, and at which we will report back on our progress over the previous year, while at the same time identifying the priorities for the next year.

We have formed a registered charity called “The Friends of St Andrew's Kirk Ella”, and the trustees of “The Friends of St Andrew's Kirk Ella” are: Graham Brookes, Chris Franklin, Peter Roberts and Penny Laucht.

By filling out the Standing Order form for £50 a year, and returning it to: 

Friends of St Andrew's Kirk Ella, St Andrew's Church Office, The Memorial Hall, Beverley Road HU10 7QA.

You will receive a letter of acknowledgement, a copy of the constitution of the Friends of St Andrew's Kirk Ella, and an invitation to the next Friends of St Andrew's Kirk Ella Reception.

Friends of St Andrew Gift Aid Standing Order 2015.pdf

Yes! If you have a particular skill you would like to offer, please let us know. If you have no particular skill, but lots of time and energy and plenty of enthusiasm, again please let us know.

Every Grade 1 listed building always generates plenty of small scale or larger practical projects waiting for the right person to appear in order to take them on. There are regular and cheerful cleaning teams working inside the church building, and occasional churchyard clear up sessions outside.

Please let us know if you would like to be involved in any way.

Thank you for helping us to make certain that St Andrew's Church building will be in good condition for the people of Kirk Ella for the next century, just as Joseph Sykes has so generously provided for the people of Kirk Ella ever since 1860.

Rev Ash Carter,        Dec 2021