Rasen church in the spotlight after successful campaign

St Thomas’s, in the town’s market place, has ditched its old pendant lighting for a state of the art system to give the church a brighter future.

Last summer, the church launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the work and the Rev Steve Johnson was delighted with the response.

“We would like to say thank you to everybody in the town who contributed to the lighting fund,” he said.

“Once started, the work took just about a week to complete, so there was no interruption in services.

“What a good job electrician Paul Wiseman did for us.

“He was very amenable and helpful and certainly went that extra mile for us.

“Thank you to everyone who came in to clean the church after the work was completed as well.”

The old lighting system was very dim and also uneconomical, with bulbs constantly blowing and costing £45 a time.

The bulbs in the new lights are expected to last for around 10 years and make the whole building much brighter.

“It (the lighting) has just improved the whole aesthetics of the building,” said the Rev Johnson. “The church is now far more welcoming and you can certainly see things a lot better.

“The old lights weren’t wasted though, we sold them at Perkins’ auction and they realised about £1,000.”

The lighting project is just one phase of making the church more accessible to the whole community.

The Lady Chapel has been refurbished, creating a tranquil area for quiet prayer and a versatile space for the popular Celtic services.

The Rev Johnson is also keen to open up the entrance to the church.

“The current porch area is very dark and acts as a physical barrier to people,” he said.

“It would be wonderful to have a glass porch to help welcome the community in.

“We need to continue to develop the building, making it fit for its purpose and fit for the community we serve.”

In a human development, it has been announced that the Market Rasen Group of Churches will be welcoming Claire Walker as curate next year.