Bid for a chance to have Sir Michael Palin as your private tour guide at a historic church.
Monty Python star, comedian and writer Sir Michael Palin and his son, Will Palin, are offering to show one lucky person and up to three guests around Sheerness Dockyard Church in Kent. The beautiful 19th Century Grade II* Listed church on the Isle of Sheppey was gutted by a devastating fire in 2001 but has been completely restored. Will Palin oversaw the restoration to this magnificent church, so you will be able to hear first-hand about this project during the tour and over lunch with them both afterwards.
Sir Michael Palin has been a Vice President of the National Churches Trust for many years, supporting the charity in its mission to help struggling churches across the UK stay open and in use.
Sir Michael Palin, Vice President of the National Churches Trust, said:
“There must be a recognition that the local church still means something to the community. A recognition that English churches remain an enormously valuable part of our national heritage. For my part, I feel very strongly that if the idea of a community is to mean anything at all, then we must value the churches that are at their centre. Not just because so many are beautiful buildings in themselves, but for what they can still offer, as they used to offer, as havens, shelters, places of protection – places which it doesn’t cost a penny to enter, and in which it won’t cost you a penny to stay all day.”
“We must not be afraid to try and use our churches, open them for believers and non-believers, and even ‘agnostics with doubts’ to enjoy. They are an archive of hopes, dreams, fears, skills, talent and troubles, which should surely be available to as many people as possible. They are a precious expression of our past. And it is the duty of our present generation to deliver them intact for the future.”
The ‘Going, Going, Saved!’ online auction opens on Friday 7 June and will run until 5pm on Friday 28 June.
This prize is one more than 50 being offered to help the leading church heritage charity, the National Churches Trust, raise funds to help keep even more churches across the UK open and in good repair.
To see all of the lots and bid for your chance to win any of them visit the National Churches Trust website.