Below are the details of Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride 2025 and how you can get involved in a great day out… and help restore historic church buildings in Suffolk.

The annual Sponsored Ride and Stride is a national event, and every second Saturday in September cyclists, walkers and runners are out making money for their local county Churches Trust.

The idea started in Suffolk, and is now held across England, with Suffolk leading the table of funds raised. The Ride and Stride is the main source of income to Suffolk Historic Churches Trust to enable it to make grants to churches and chapels of all denominations towards repair and restoration costs.

Ride and Stride is run entirely by volunteers and is inter-denominational, with participants sponsored for each place of worship visited between 9.00am and 5.00pm on Ride and Stride Day or with a donation, regardless of the number of churches visited.

The money raised by each cyclist or walker is shared equally between the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and the place of worship nominated by the participant.

As important as the participants are the many volunteers who give up the day to man the churches and chapels and sign in the cyclists and walkers as they arrive. Hundreds of places of worship are manned during the day and that takes quite a team of volunteers! It is a real community effort that is the lifeblood of the Trust.

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TAKING PART IN RIDE AND STRIDE – walking, cycling, running!

1A Suffolk has been split into a number of areas, each with its Ride and Stride Area Organiser, and each parish has its own Local Organiser, who will be able to supply the necessary forms. Your local church or chapel should have details of your own Area Organiser, who can put you in touch with the Local Organiser looking after your place of worship. If you need further assistance, please telephone or email the SHCT office – 01787 883884 [email protected]

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1B Download the list of churches open and the sponsorship form by clicking on these links:

Sponsorship Form 2025
https://shct.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SHCT-Sponsorship-Form-2025.pdf

Open Churches List 2025
https://shct.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SHCT-Church-List-20251.pdf

and follow the instructions in the form.

2 PLAN YOUR ROUTE – as many or as few churches and chapels as you like, wherever you like.

3 SIGN UP YOUR SPONSORS – JustGiving is the easiest way. NB: please ensure you say which place of worship 50 per cent of your money should go to.

Click HERE for some advice on using JustGiving. https://shct.org.uk/2025/06/26/collecting-via-just-giving/

4 ENJOY YOUR WALK OR CYCLE RIDE ON ‘RIDE AND STRIDE DAY’ – At manned churches they will sign your form and give you a warm welcome. At unattended churches you can log yourself.

5 AFTER THE RIDE – When you have collected your sponsorship money, please hand this over to your Ride and Stride Local Organiser or send your total sponsorship money direct to the Ride and Stride Treasurer David Gould, by cheque payable to SHCT, ensuring that you clearly identify the church or chapel you wish to benefit. David can also be contacted if you have any queries. His contact details are:

email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01473 253838

Address: 7 Karen Close, Ipswich, IP1 4LP

Thank you!!! You have helped beautiful Suffolk churches to be repaired, restored or improved for future generations.

JUSTGIVING: Click https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/suffolk-churches-ride-and-stride-2025 to enter the Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride 2025 page on the JustGiving website, where you can log into your account and donate. If you are unfamiliar with JustGiving, it is easy to set up your own online JustGiving page by selecting “Sign up” on the top right of the page and entering the details requested. Please ensure that the place of worship you wish to benefit is clearly specified.

Our churches and chapels need our help more than ever, so please support this vital annual event. Half of your sponsorship money will go to the Trust to be given in grants for church repairs, and half will go to the church of your choosing.