The Rev Runned Challenge!
During Advent 2020, Rev’d Dr Janet Anderson-MacKenzie ran the distance of a marathon (in parts) to raise money for the churches in the Lidbrook Group of Churches in Wiltshire, of which she is the Priest in Charge. The need to raise money came from the dramatic fall in church income due to COVID-19, when many services and fundraising were not allowed.
Janet ran seven segments of 6km each, which (with an extra 195 metres) totalled the 26.2 miles of a marathon! She completed all of her runs between Advent Sunday on 29 November and Christmas Eve.
She suggested that people might like to donate the equivalent that they would have spent at, for example, the Christmas Fair or a Harvest Supper, as a one-off sponsorship amount. Janet also used the event to encourage regular giving, asking people to consider making a regular donation, however small, to support their work.
The completed ‘marathon’ raised an incredible total of almost £6,000, and Janet kept everyone up to date with both the runs and the fundraising through photos on her Facebook page, including updates on the weather conditions!
The Lidbrook Group of Churches is comprised of the Church in Box with Hazelbury and Ditteridge as well as the Parish of Colerne. Before being called to be a priest, Rev’d Dr Janet Anderson-MacKenzie was a biochemist specialising in osteoarthritis research. As well as being the Vicar, Janet is also a school governor of the local school.
Rev’d Dr Janet Anderson-MacKenzie said:
“We hadn’t been able to have any of our church fundraising events this year, like the Ditteridge Harvest Supper, or the Colerne Christmas Fair and the Box Open Gardens. This was an opportunity to ask people to consider helping us out by donating the money they would have given on those occasions.
“Also we were encouraging people to think that if their families have been helped by the church, maybe in a sad time like a funeral or on a more happy occasion like a wedding, and they would like us to be able to provide that support to other families in the future, to consider if they could make a regular or one-off donation. Thank you to everyone who sponsored me, it made a big difference to our finances.”
For ideas about setting up your own fundraising events or pages, please visit www.bristol.anglican.org/parishfinance or contact Clare Fussell or Naomi Buckler, Diocesan Giving Advisers, who would be delighted to help.