A Pure Heart

I do not ask for a life of luxury,

The world’s gold, or fine pearls.

All I ask for is a happy heart,

An honest heart, a pure heart.

 

A pure heart is full of goodness,

Lovelier than the pretty lily.

Only a pure heart can sing,

Sing by day and sing by night.

 

This prayer is a translation of the first verse and chorus of the much loved Welsh hymn, Calon Lân, which many of you will have heard sung with great passion by Welsh rugby supporters. Indeed, it is said that to be truly Welsh, you must sing the hymn by heart whenever an opportunity arises! The words are by Daniel James [1847-1920], known by the bardic name, Gwyrosydd, and the hymn is set to a lovely tune by John Hughes [1872-1914].

The hymn-writer’s prayer for a pure heart [calon lân] with which to praise God day and night, reminds us of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God’ [Matthew, 5,8].

And, here are the words of the first verse and chorus in Welsh:

 

Calon Lân

Nid wy’n gofyn bywyd moethus,

Aur y byd na’i berlau mân:

Gofyn rwyf am galon hapus

Calon onest, calon lân

 

Calon lân yn llawn daioni,

Tecach yw na’r lili dlos:

Dim ond calon lân all ganu-

Canu’r dydd a chanu’r nos.

 

John Rea    

Appeals for a volunteer fund-raiser have so far been unsuccessful, and so we thought that we would rerun the article which first appeared in the July Parish Magazine.

There have been some developments since July, most notably the fact that funding for Phase 2 of the Heating Project is now in place, and work on this will take place in the very near future.  This means a reduction of about £7000 in the total fund-raising requirement, which might make the position of volunteer fund-raiser more attractive!

As before, Chris Hardwick, Martin Pendle and John Rea will be delighted to talk to anyone who might be interested in this important post.

The article, slightly revised to take account of developments since July is set our below.

Tavistock Parish Church has ambitious plans to improve its facilities, and to ensure that its existing facilities are properly maintained. We are now seeking a volunteer to lead the fund-raising which will be needed for the implementation of these plans. The person concerned will join the strong team already involved in the delivery of the programme, and will:

• lead the fund-raising for the programme
• help to define the funding targets for the projects which make up the programme
• work with others in organising activities to raise funds
• oversee the design and production of promotional materials
• organise and coordinate approaches to potential major donors
• work with others to raise awareness of the church’s work, goals and financial needs
• acknowledge donations through thank you letters, updates on the fund raising campaigns and so on

Previous relevant experience is not essential. We are looking for a friendly, articulate, computer literate team-worker who enjoys a challenge and who is committed to the future well-being of Tavistock Parish Church.

Some information on the development programme is given below, and Chris Hardwick, the Vicar of Tavistock, Martin Pendle, the Development Programme Manager, and John Rea, Chairman of the Church’s Finance Committee will be delighted to provide further advice.

A Note on the Church’s Development Plans

The P700 Programme

The P700 Programme, so called because it was launched in 2018, the 700^th anniversary of the dedication of the church, is an ambitious programme for the development of the fabric of the church. It is intended that the Programme will be implemented in phases over a number of years.

The Management of the Programme

The Programme is being managed by Martin Pendle who chairs the P700 committee which reports to the Parochial Church Council [PCC]. The PCC Finance Committee is responsible for the financial control of the Programme.

There is a strong team involved in taking the developments forward. As well as the arrangements for the management, implementation and financial control of the Programme, there are excellent arrangements for the identification of potential sources of grants and for the submission of applications for grants; there is already a significant programme of fund raising events; and the Friends of St Eustachius are supporting the Programme financially and in other ways

Achievements so far

In 2018, the vestry roof was repaired, and a new boiler installed at a total cost of £121,000. These projects were funded by generous donations from the Friends of St Eustachius and by fund raising which together produced a total of £81,000, and by a contribution of £40,000 from the Church’s unrestricted reserves.  The resultant depletion of the unrestricted reserves means that the cost of future projects will have to be covered by grants and by fund raising.

The Next Stage: Funding Requirements

The PCC has approved two projects for early implementation:

• Upgrade of the Sound System
• Provision of Kitchen and Toilets

Although the planning approvals for these projects are not yet in place, and the final costs will depend on tendering on the basis of detailed specifications, we estimate that delivery of the projects will cost about £170,000, including VAT. There are already funding pledges from the Friends and from private donors amounting to about £55,000, and the VAT on at least one of the projects should be recoverable to a value of about £25,000, leaving approximately £90,000 to be met through grants and fund raising.

Chris Hardwick, Martin Pendle and John Rea