The Julian Appeal
Friends and well-wishers gather to celebrate new chapter in the work of the Julian Centre
5 March 2008
On a windy evening in March a group of supporters, eminent clergy, religious, and civic leaders, came together to celebrate the success of the Julian Appeal and to admire the newly refurbished Julian Centre.
Brian Thorne, Chair of the Friends of Julian (pictured below), told us about the current state of play and appealed to the ongoing generosity of our supporters:
“It was our hope that by Easter of this year we might have raised £100,000. In fact, as of today, the total raised stands at £128,000. God has mightily blessed our efforts and we can justifiably celebrate and give thanks that as a result the life-giving and life-affirming influence of Julian of Norwich can permeate ever more widely into our culture and society.
“It seems the Holy Spirit is powerfully operative among us and immense energies are being released. But in no way can we be complacent. It looks likely that we have exceeded our target because that target was fixed too low. If we are to respond to the call which Julian is inciting in our secularised twenty-first century, then the commitment and generosity which the present Appeal has generated will need to be sustained for many years to come.”
Brian went on to tell us where the money had come from, and offered special thanks to the Geoffrey Watling Charity:
“Support for the Appeal has come from all over the country and from abroad, but the response locally has been particularly impressive. 370 individuals have contributed to the Appeal and 43 groups and charitable trusts have donated. Of these latter, the most recent is the Heritage Lottery Fund with an award of £50,000 which will enable us to appoint a Learning Project Officer.
“At an early stage of the Appeal when we were feeling we were about to climb an impossible mountain, I received a letter from the Clerk to the Trustees of the Geoffrey Watling Charity inviting us to apply. When a few weeks later we were informed that the Geoffrey Watling Charity was giving us a grant of £10,000, I think we knew that, somehow, all would indeed be well.”
The group celebrated the restructuring and refurbishment of the Julian Centre, and Brian paid special tribute to Canon Michael McLean for his creative influence in the work; to Nicole McDonald and Sister Pamela for managing the upheaval and temporary chaos; and to the builders, decorators, electricians and heating engineers for working with efficiency, courtesy and good humour, and for delivering the project on schedule.
We continue to rely on the support of Friends and donors to meet our ongoing costs. Click here if you would like to make a donation. Thank you for your interest and support.