Having said I’d take part in the annual Church bike ride (each county’s Churches Trust runs it and proceeds are shared between the church of your choice and the Trust) this Saturday, and Dilly having said she’d join me, we’ve done nothing about it. I have had a route in mind, but the details had not been decided upon – it’s not that it exactly matters except that I didn’t want to find too many unexpected hills, as neither I nor my bike excel at hills. Dilly hasn’t actually used her bike for the past four years.
Then my sister asked if it would be a good weekend for her to come up and meet Zerlina. Well, the best weekend for all of us this month as it happens. Then it turned out to be not an ideal day for anyone to look after the children.
So our plans have changed. I will whizz out for a couple of hours in the morning to take in the most local churches (most inconveniently, Suffolk churches won’t be manned until 10 am, whereas the early-rising Nor folk will be ready for business from 9) and then we’ll set off for Norwich, drop Wink off at El’s house and then Dilly, I and the children will do a walk round the churches in Norwich – the city centre alone has dozens of them. This is within the rules, a walk is allowed.
The other fly in the ointment is that I am incapable of asking people for money. So I have exactly two sponsors as yet. I have, finally, sent off an email to churchy people, not actually asking for sponsorship but reminding them that the thing is happening. I don’t really care much and will shove in a donation anyway – I am a bit iffy about this whole sponsoring thing, especially when you find yourself sponsoring someone’s adventure holiday in the name of charidee, which has happened to me in the past.
I’m no good at this sort of thing.
PS. This is NOT a veiled request for money. Please don’t even consider the notion.
Is 9am standard first service time? Many U.S. churches have the first service at 7 or 8am and some even have a Saturday evening service. Your Sunday schedule of events sounds like a lot of fun.
It’s not related to service times, it’s just that the churches arrange to have someone to sign your sponsor forms all day and Suffolk starts manning churches an hour later than Norfolk.
Many of the small village churches only have one or two services on a Sunday and times are staggered to allow clergy to get around. In our benefice, weekly Sunday services are either at 9.30 or 11 am, and in addition there is an 8 am service in at least one church, and an evening service at least twice a month. There’s a short weekday service once a week.
I’n hopeless asking for money too. Every time the children need sponsorship I make a big donation to avoid asking anyone else. Same with raffle tickets, I just buy the whole book myself.
Lots of luck with the bike ride.