Dear friends,
I thank you for your prayers and concerns.In brief, this is the situation in which we find ourselves: we have had very few groups using the Centre since March. We have a number of bookings from March 2021. Clearly, this level of income does not cover our expenses, which amount approx. £2300 per month. We have made as many changes, small as well as large, as possible to reduce running costs. Unfortunately, we have had to make both Renata and Anna redundant – they worked 5 days a week cleaning and cooking. This is a great loss to both them and us. Renata had worked here for 12 years and Anna for 4 years.
So, we have a serious challenge. We are very grateful to those people who regularly send a financial contribution towards the Centre for Unity, which has made our position stronger than it would have been otherwise.
We do have a contingency fund to cover emergency situations plus roof repairs. This is a large building with a number of flat roofs as well as the traditional pitched, tiled roofs. We do need to make further repairs to the roof. If anyone could contribute to that we would use up less of our contingency fund. This is important as, clearly, none of us know how long this situation will continue. I have asked the company who do our roof repairs to let us know which roof needs to be repaired first. None of these roof areas have been replaced for over 25years and leaks do occur. The expected costs would be £7,000 for the smaller and £16,000 for the larger roof. If you are able and would like to contribute to the cost of these repairs please send a one-off donation or increased regular donation, which can also be gift-aided, please see Focolare Trust bank details below.
With many thanks and sincere gratitude for your love and concern. We will keep praying for one another!
Mary Gateshill, Centre for Unity Manager
Account name: The Focolare Trust
Bank: Nat West, Clapham Common Branch, London
Sort code: 60-05-34
Account no: 23589043
