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Fundraising Ceilidh, 14^th September, 7pm to 10.45pm in the Village Institute Hall. 

The fabulous Phoenix Ceilidh Band will be playing for us to dance the night away and at the same time raise money for St Mary’s and the potential purchase of the Embsay Methodist Church Hall, kitchen and vestry for continued use by the community. 

Tickets cost £15 for an adult and £10 for children. A family ticket is £40. They are available at the Paper Shop or from Liz Roodhouse – M: 07810 200202.

David Allison, Chairman of Embsay with Eastby Good Neighbours CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) and Property Steward of Embsay Methodist Church outlines the current situation. 

“Embsay with Eastby Good Neighbours (Registered Charity) hopes to purchase the former Embsay Methodist Church Hall, kitchen and vestry, to ensure its continued community use for the foreseeable future. Despite the formal closure of the former Church in 2021, the building continues to be very well used. 8 young peoples’ groups, Making Waves, the Community Café, the Multimedia Group, the Scrapbook Workshop, Counselling, and a monthly Fellowship/Discussion Group meet there regularly. In addition, there are many one –off bookings for family parties, funeral teas etc. These could not be all accommodated within the Village Institute, and so the Hall remains an essential aspect of the community life of our villages.

A conservative estimate of the amount needed to acquire the building and make it fit for purpose is thought to likely be in the region of £35,000.   It will be necessary to have a new electrical supply from Main Street, potential upgrading/rewiring of the building, installation of new gas boiler, as well as any potential contribution towards alterations to the separation of the Chapel and the Hall, and towards alteration works to the front yard and garden area, to form a new access off Main Street.

The overall scheme still must be approved by a body known as TMCP –a national group known as the Trustees for Methodist Church purposes, who in effect are the ultimate owners of all Methodist property in the UK.  They cannot grant approval “in principle” and will require all the relevant information to hand before they can give a decision.  It is important to state that the local Skipton and Grassington Methodist Circuit are fully in support of what is being proposed, but they cannot make the decision on behalf of the TMCP group referred to above.

Several local occupants have already offered in principle to contribute towards the amount needed, and to date approx. £10,000 has been raised, which includes commitments in principle.

The Good Neighbours Group remain optimistic that the proposal outline above will be eventually approved and intend to carry on raising money, so that it can proceed when the “green light” is given.  At that point it is also the intention to proceed with grant applications to supplement the fundraising activities.  This cannot be done yet because many of the grant funding bodies require that grant monies are expended within a limited time e.g. 12 months.

In the meantime, all support is appreciated!”