The Parish Church of St. John the Baptist is a priceless asset, not only to the Anglican Church and the City of Chester, but to the Nation and the wider world. St. Johns' walls have seen over a thousand years of prayer and events which have impacted on the history of the British Isles. It is the oldest Christian Site in Chester as well as one of the oldest in the
United Kingdom.
The doors of St John's are open 365 days of the year allowing people to say their prayers and to admire its unique architecture; St. John's is a place of peace in a busy world. We as its custodians for this generation are determined to see that it remains as a place of worship, a historic asset and the centre of the community for future generations; to do so we need to make St. John's better known to wider public. Hence the Project! This is why we are working closely with English Heritage and will do so for many years to come.
Although St John's is first and foremost a Church with a full range of Services, it is also a place that we think should be used by the Community for secular activity such as plays, concerts, meetings and exhibitions; in other words to expand on what we do already with the St John's Festival Orchestra and the Wednesday at One series of recitals. Our view is that we cannot, indeed must not, keep this building just for religious activity, but make it available for much wider community use and this is one of our principal aims in launching this website and our 10 year Appeal.
Hence the St John's Project….. Hence the Appeal …..Hence the Day.
English Heritage have partnered with us providing financial and other support, and we need to fund our share of the Restoration Monies to complement this. To fund the enhancements that will enable St John's to be used by the whole community we need to raise many millions of pounds over the next ten years, and just as importantly to raise money to put this Parish as custodians of an Historic asset on a sound financial footing. The restoration work is planned in stages, and funding has targets to meet throughout its schedule.
Thank you.
The Rector
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