John and Bob are gearing up for their annual church-hopping challenge this September. Picture a peloton of cyclists (well, at least two), 20-30 miles of dazzling Gloucestershire countryside, and a mission to visit at least half a dozen eye-poppingly grand historic churches along the way. But we're not just out for a bit of exercise and a few flashy church selfies. We're fundraising to keep these buildings from falling over and hurting someone! Every penny you sponsor helps preserve these community treasures that have been bringing people together for centuries. Whether you chuck in a fiver or empty your bank account, you'll be helping to save history - one bell tower at a time!

Exciting opportunity: if you'd like to cycle with us, we're leaving St Mary's at 10am. Let us know so we don't leave you behind.

The cost of maintaining historic stone buildings like St Mary's Church is very high and their small membership cannot fund it alone. These buildings are of value to the entire community for their beauty, their historical significance and for religious purposes such as weddings, baptisms, funerals, regular services, individual prayer and retreat. We rely on donations and fund-raising to support the maintenance and repair of roofs, paintwork, stone, metal and woodwork, as well as protecting and enhancing the facilities. St Mary's will receive half the money raised through this page with the other half going to the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust. Our website is at https://www.stmaryskingswood.org.uk

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From GHCT: Thousands of people take part in Ride+Stride every year to raise funds to support their local churches and county historic churches trusts. In our area we raised over £35,000 in 2024, for individual churches and for our grants programme. You can take part in this fun event where participants seek sponsorship to visit our churches by walking, cycling, on horse back, on public transport or by car. Most of our Ride+Stride supporters join in with others from their church but, if you simply would like to help save historic churches and support the Trust, you can sign up on your own!