My Church, St James, has really suffered through lockdown - we've lost over half of our regular income due to not being able to rent out the hall. 

So starting on our Patronal Festival I have committed to walking 775 km for the church - for which I hope to raise £1 per km walked - a total of £775.00. 

As a church we have a wonderful choir, children's work, Mother's Union and a Saturday Social Club for the elderly as well as a newly launched Eco Group.  We generously share space with both the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Egyptian Orthodox church who would not otherwise be able to meet locally.  There are many things we do to support the community from a Christmas lunch for the lonely to providing free space for refugee counselling; we've been a place of collection for the food bank and blood donation - a voting station and meeting place for local Muslims; we subsidise the local Brownies, Rainbows, Scouts, St James Players Drama Society and English as a second language classes.  We hold music classes and services for the blind on our premises and a very lively toddler soft play.  The church is a venue for many local concerts and the hall has seen the celebration of many local parties.  We are also very good at raising money for others and have given £1,000 to both the Children's Society and Christian Aid in the past year.  But right now we need to ask for ourselves - as we are committed to serving our community and being here for many years to come - but we really need some help for the next steps through this pandemic.

So I am walking the length of the Camino de Santiago - a traditional pilgrimage of St James in Spain - only I won't be going abroad - this will be done virtually and I'll be using a treadmill and a fitbit!!  During lockdown I have managed less than1km a day on average - and I am not the fittest person (understatement) BUT I am hoping to complete this walk in 3 months - so this is really quite a challenge for me!!

I would be so grateful for any support you might be able to give.  It will make every step easier with you behind me - and your generosity will enable the church to survive through these times.  THANK YOU.