1. THE 'FUND-RAISING STORY' SO FAR
It is marvellous to be back in Knutsford Methodist Church and to see the wonderful results of the Redevelopment - only made possible by the tremendous sacrificial giving by our congregation over the last 2 years.

It is also very rewarding to know that we are within 'touching distance' of achieving our fund-raising target. As I explained in my last (August 06) report, we only need to raise a further £75,000.

This is a very good position for us to be in and - as Chairman of Knutsford Methodist Church's Finance Committee - I would like to thank most warmly everyone who has contributed financially to this success.

It also means that - so far - we have not had to take out a Methodist Chapel Aid Loan. Originally we expected to have to take out a loan of £200,000 around August time. It now looks as though a loan will not be necessary until around December, and it will be significantly less than £200,000.

We set off on our ' fund raising challenge ' only 2 years ago in an act of 'tremendous faith', and it is wonderful to see what we have achieved so far.

HOW DO WE RAISE THIS £75,000?
As we have now received all the External Grants that we have been promised, then this shortfall of £75,000 will need to be raised from future donations from the members of our congregation.

I am aware that many members of our congregation are giving some thought as to how they can best contribute further to this fund raising challenge and I would therefore suggest the following possible ways:-

1. Making a donation during 2006. This would clearly be very helpful indeed, as it would reduce the amount of the loan that we need to take out in December.

2. Making a donation during 2007. This would, of course, help us to pay back any loan during 2007. The challenge will be to see if we can pay back this loan before the end of 2007 (given that this coincides with the finish date of the existing 3-year Standing Orders that many members of the congregation took out in January 2005 for the Building Fund).

3. Set up a monthly Standing Order from January 2007 to December 2007 (ie 12 months). I am aware that some members of the congregation prefer to spread their financial donations by using a monthly Standing Order. In this case I would suggest a 12-month Standing Order to finish by Dec 2007 (again to coincide with the finish date of the 3-year Standing Orders).