Hi! I’m Christa, the new curate with the parish of Thanington, St Nicholas and St Faith.I’m delighted to be here, along with my husband Jon, who is a business consultant. We have two daughters, who are at school in Canterbury, and loving it! We have moved from London where I served with a network of five churches in the East End: the main one was St John at Hackney. I got to see there how God is breathing fresh life into His Church.One of my passions is creativity: I like to write, create, & I love a good party! I am looking forward to serving the vision of Thanington Parish Church to reach families in the area with God’s love. Messy Church is a great creative space for this and I am excited to be part of the team making that happen once a month. In September we ran it for the first time and welcomed 35 children with their parents/carers into church.I am also doing a short placement with the Chaplaincy at University of Kent. Canterbury is buzzing with students so I am thrilled to be able to come alongside them. I love building people up, so in particular, if you are at a bit of a crossroads in life, I would love to meet up with you and see how God might want to encourage you, too! Every Blessing, Christa. Post navigation ← Previo
You may have heard or read about David Week's sponsored cycle ride from Canterbury to York to raise money towards the repair of the lychgate at St Nciholas Church in Thanington. Here he is pictured outside York Minster.David set off from Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday 13th May. His journey took him from Canterbury to Billericay on day 1, from Billericay to Hauxton on day 2., from Hauxton to Stamford on day 3, from Stamford to Grantham on day 4, and from Grantham to Retford on day 5, and finally from Retford to York on day 6.After 362 miles of cycling over 5 days, David arrived in York, both both he and the bicyle in one piece. On completing the cycle-ride, David said "My sincerest thanks to all who have donated, your generosity spurred me on especially when I was feeling pretty flat and exhausted."David's aim was to raise £500 and he has raised £540 through his Just Giving page. To find out more about why he decided to do this and to see a few photos of his journey, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bikerideforthaningtonlychgate Thanks to David and to to all who sponsored him., Thanington Parish Church is now a step closer to raising the £24,000 cost for the lychgate to be repaired and restored this summer.
We're now half way to our target of £24,000 to pay for the repair and restoration of Thanington lychgate so that it continues to be part of the heritage of Thanington for years to come.Thanks for the many donations so far (both small and large) We've now raised a total of £12,000 thanks to a significant donation from the Brett family, who have had a strong connection with Thanington for a number of generations. It's encouraging to feel the support of the local community for this project. The question now is ... where will the other £12000 come from? Firstly, we are awaiting the outcome of a number of other grant applications and we hope at least some of those will be successful. Secondly, one of our congregation is doing a sponsored cycle ride from Canterbury to York (see our previous news story for more details). Other members of the church are organising a number of small fund-raising events:Thirdly, we are inviting members of the community to sponsor a tile. Although the contractors aim to re-use as much of the original materials in the restoration of the lychgate, they estimate that we will need to replace around 400 Kent peg tiles. We are inviting people to sponsor a tile at £5 each. That would amount to £2000 in total. We will keep a list of sponsors for our archives as evidence of the support of local residents. More about that in our next news story on this website.Thanks again for your interest and support as we seek to preserve this heritage
From May 13th - 19th David will be undertaking an epic journey on this bike from Canterbury Cathedral to York Minister to help raise funds to restore the Lychgate at St. Nicholas Church in Thanington, Canterbury. DAY 1 - Canterbury to Billericay (66 miles); DAY 2 - Billericay to Hauxton (53 miles); DAY 3 - Hauxton to Stamford (61 miles); DAY 4 - Stamford to Grantham (48 miles); DAY 5 - Grantham to Retford (46 miles); DAY 6 - Retford to York (62 miles). TOTAL 336 milesDavid writes ...Local landmarks take root in the history of a place and are what give a place it's character. The lychgate at St Nicholas Church has been an historic landmark in Thanington since 1871. It may not be the size of the cathedral but it is hard not to notice as you drive or cycle past as you may have done on your way into or out of Canterbury. It is a structure that many have walked through on their way to worship, perhaps to mark significant times in the life of family and friends at baptisms, weddings or funerals. Some will have taken shelter under the lychgate in passing storm or may just have hung out with friends under it's shade. What is true though is that the lychgate of St. Nicholas would be missed in Canterbury by its absence and the city would be poorer without it.Sadly time, nature and the elements have had their effect on it. The lychgate is now in poor shape and it urgently needs work to restore the structure to put it on a firm footing, so that it continues to be a feature in Thanington and for those who pass through for many years to come. To restore it in a way which makes it safe and preserves its historic character, will cost an estimated £24,000 which is well beyond the means of the church's regular congregation.To that end would you consider sponsoring David to raise money toward this project and help to preserve what is an iconic local landmark for generations to come. So far £12,000 has been raised thanks to donations and fundraising events. Please help us raise the rest. You can sponsor David via the Just Giving websitehttps://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bikerideforthaningtonlychgateAny donations welcome - small and large. Thank you!You will be able to follow David's progress on Facebook .... www.facebook.com/davidweeksartistand Instagram .... @purpleirisphotography
