Cheers to an fashioned sponsored walk
Every so often it can be inspiring to remind yourself how far you’ll go for those that mean a lot to you. Three members of a church in Shoreham set out to prove how much St Mary de Haura means to them.
On Saturday August 8th, the three friends, Mark Potter, Paul McLaughlin and Phillip Gibbs, set out to walk from St Mary de Haura Church, Shoreham by Sea, to Chichester Cathedral to raise funds for the Church.
The experienced walkers thought the 31 mile distance was possible in a day. What made it more of a challenge was the blistering heat they had to contend with the whole way.
Starting at 8am they were sent on their way with a blessing from Canon Ann Waizeneker, vicar of St Mary’s. Members of the congregation, family and friends gathered to see them off and it included the shake of a few tambourines. It was already getting hot by then!
The afternoon heat was distinctly challenging at times forcing a slower pace, but they used their experience to keep each other going. Finally, they arrived at Chichester Cathedral at 6.30pm, met with a very warm welcome and a selection of ice chilled water and craft beers.
Mark Potter and his family have been active members for 10 years and he had this to say:
- I wanted to do something to help the Church and our community during this difficult time. A sponsored walk seemed an obvious thing I could do to help raise funds, and Chichester Cathedral a very fitting journey. The Covid 19 lockdown has meant we’ve stopped many fund raising activities, but many expenses have remained. Being on the PCC I get to see the great things that are done by everyone reaching out to our community, and I simply felt inspired to support them if I could. A very warm thank you to everyone who’s been able to support this adventure. Thank you Phil for great navigation and Paul for helping us keep up the pace. I’m very grateful.
So far they have raised a superb £2,800, and Mark expects this to be matched by the company he works for.Canon Ann said: “the support they have had is fantastic and this contribution to our finances will really help us to keep the church open and supporting the community as it always does.We are so grateful to them for undertaking this walk in such challenging conditions and to everyone who has sponsored them.”
If you would like to support the church of St Mary de Haura through Mark, Paul and Phil’s walk, it is not too late to do so!Please visit this dedicated sponsor page.