The Friends of Burley Church is a registered charity set up in 1979 and like all similar organisations, its constitution requires it to raise funds to assist the Parochial Church Council in the preservation, maintenance, repair or improvement of the structure fabric, furnishings and accoutrements of Saint John the Baptist Church, Burley, the Vicarage and Church Room"

This it does mainly by organising affordable and enjoyable social events in the village but also through the annual subscription of its members. This was set initially at a somewhat unrealistic minimum of £1, although most members have increased their contribution in line with inflation.

You do not need to be a regular or even irregular, church member to be a Friend and support its functions. Perhaps you just feel it is important for the village to retain an active church in good condition. The money raised by the Friends cannot be used to help cover the normal running expenses of the church but our help with maintenance does enable the church to use more of its income to provide a service to the community

Although the Friends are prepared to give the church some money each year towards small maintenance work we prefer to raise money for specific projects.Thus we contributed £4,000 towards the cost of the disabled person's WC in 2004 and paid £6,000 for the refurbishment of the church room in 2006. These are not large sums but are much valued by the church. We generally retain a balance of about £10K for emergencies.

The Friends is run by a small committee of 9, who currently take it in turn to chair meetings, although other members help with specific events. The committee always welcomes new members and new ideas. Apart from the events there are only 5 committee meetings each year. Please think about joining the Friends and maybe its committee.