Charles Inglis, Chairman of the Norfolk Churches Trust Bike Ride Committee gives an update on the Norfolk Churches Trust Bike Ride and lets us know what’s coming up.
Last year the Bike Ride exceeded all possible expectations and produced a record-breaking result. An extraordinary total of £174,382 was raised by 831 participants.
This represented an amazing increase of around £80,000 on the previous year and a 45% increase in people taking part. The number of places of worship receiving cheques increased from 293 to 331. This is a fantastic way to raise money for your church when many fundraising activities have been lost or curtailed this year and the success of this event is largely down to lots of people making small contributions which add up to a large amount of money to help save our iconic and historic Norfolk churches.
There are several ways to fundraise on the day. If you would like to raise sponsorship we encourage you to use JustGiving. It is easy to use and allows you to let your friends and family know that you are taking part in the Bike Ride and Walk and can pay The Norfolk Churches Trust directly. If you would rather collect sponsorship directly and send money in, you can download a sponsorship form with the required payslip here.
We are hoping that people enjoyed last year and will want to get out and explore the county’s magnificent churches by cycling, walking or driving in this year’s Bike Ride on Saturday 11 of September 2021. Sign up here. There is also a new facility to register for the Bike Ride online as well as a Church and Chapel Open List which we will keep updated.
Norfolk Churches Trust are also offering a £1,000 prize for the most improved church. In other words, the church which shows the most improvement in its Bike Ride fund-raising compared to last year. This is an opportunity to make a substantial difference to your church’s finances. See the website for more details.
On the Norfolk Churches Trust website, you will also find details of the Prince of Wales Certificate, featured routes and activity sheets. Please send us any photographs you take during the day and we will send the three we like most £50 and hopefully have them printed in the Eastern Daily Press. Do check the Wall of Fame for the people who visited the most churches.
A few statistics, highlights and results of competitions from last year:
- Mary Heather won the Prince of Wales Certificate by raising an astounding £25,700. She also won £1,000 for her nominated church as it was the most improved on 2019.
- Susannah Towning and Amanda Marshall were the top cyclists, having visited 72 churches and their names are on the wall of fame.
- Kate Smith was the top walker who visited a blistering 42 churches.
- Three people won £50 cheques for their photographs and had their pictures published.
- Burnham Thorpe, All Saints, was the top church this year, with Baconsthorpe, St Mary, and Burgh Castle, St Peter and St Paul, coming second and third.
The Rt Revd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich said: “I am delighted to support the Norfolk Churches Trust bike ride once again this year and would encourage you to show your support by taking a ride or drive around our beautiful county. Our churches are sacred and special places – treasure troves of memory for generations of people, where they keep encountering the presence of Jesus in these places of prayerful stillness, peace and beauty. They belong to all the community and this is a great opportunity to play your part in their repair and preservation for future generations.”
