A BISHOP has been putting together a fundraiser in order to save the church he works in.

Bishop John Richardson, bishop at Bewcastle Church, has told of urgent repairs that would require a total sum of £30,000 to fix.

Recent adverse weather has taken its toll, so the roof and guttering are in urgent need of repair.

The fundraiser has a unique twist, however, where people are being asked to donate the rough value of one lamb, something the church has asked shepherds and farmers around the area to do as well.

An explanation of the fundraiser offers more background of the church, which has been something of a hub for the community for generations: "Here for 1,200 years faith and community have overlapped and entwined, as the Bewcastle Cross and tiny museum remind us.

"Within its walls generations have met to mark great occasions of family, community or national life - a wedding, a birth, a funeral, or special festivals like Christmas, Easter, Harvest and Remembrance, a Coronation, the outbreak or cessation of war.

"Loved ones have been laid to rest in the churchyard. Sunday by Sunday worship has taken place within it.

"It’s a heritage which has been entrusted to us, which we in our turn not only treasure but want to pass on to those coming after us.

"All around the Bewcastle fells and fields are tens of thousands of lambs.

"We’ve asked every farm that sells lambs from now till Christmas to consider donating just the price of one lamb."

Having asked the shepherds, the church is now asking the non-farmers of the community and people who care about the church.

Speaking more on the idea, Bishop John Richardson said: "It was the eye-catching idea, to ask for the value of one lamb, it grabs attention."

The bill of £30,000 was given, and the decision to be made was to get the money together or face an uncertain future.

John continued: "We are going for it because it has a wonderful sense of history.

"We have had visitors from all over, including some from Canada who though it was a wonderful place, we just had to go for it.

"Most of the farming community have been very generous, but the figure we are asking for, of a lamb's value, is something that people see and generally feel the can donate."

John explained the rough figure that people feel comfortable donating is roughly £100.

Continuing, he added: "We are going very well so far, having reached almost halfway to our target, but we still need a lot more help from people if we are to achieve the goal."

The fundraising goal that has been put forward to the community is £10,000, of which they have raised at time of reporting £4,799.

Explaining how important it is for the community, Bishop John said: "People come here because their families have worked in the area for hundreds of years, and it is where generations have been married.

"It is a community of faith that is very strong.

"I was speaking to someone who lives near the church who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, he had asked me to pray for him, and offered to fix the gate at the entrance to the church gardens, this is the sort of strong, generous community spirit that is in Bewcastle.

Bishop John invites everyone to come to Bewcastle Church and see for themselves why it is worth saving.