Hereford Churchgoers to Walk 200 Miles City Life Project

Three members of a Hereford church are planning to walk nearly 200 miles to raise funds for an ambitious project planned for the centre of the city.

Don Langford, Bill Gregory and Peter Strevens, members of St Peter's and St James' churches in Hereford, plan to walk Offa's Dyke long distance path from Chepstow to Prestatyn. They start out on the 1 September and hope to finish in a fortnight.

The tough and demanding hike, covering an average of about 13 miles a day for two weeks, takes in some wild and beautiful woods, hills and mountain country. Don, Bill and Peter are in training to build up their stamina.

"We are hoping to toughen the muscles and our feet in readiness," said Peter. "It's pure coincidence that our combined ages add up to the 180 miles we hope and plan to walk!."

They will be walking to raise funds for an exciting and ambitious project, based at St Peter's Church in the centre of Hereford. The "Finding Life in the City" (FLIC) project will open up the church building, so that it is used not only for worship, but for a wide range of community uses, to engage with the needs of young people, families and those working in the city, working in partnership with others.

The ambitious project will cost more than £1m, much of which it is hoped will come from grants, but church members still have to raise a substantial sum themselves.

The work will involve the complete re-ordering of the inside of the medieval church building to create flexible space with a kitchen, gallery area and full disabled access.

Part of the scheme will be the expansion of the fast growing existing ecumenical work with young people in the city from all type of backgrounds, known as Close House.

"This is really important work at the centre of our community, supporting the social, cultural and spiritual development of young people in our city, but more space and better facilities are urgently needed," said Peter. "We hope that some of the young people who use Close House, will walk with us on some of the days in the first week."

Some churches along the way have offered hospitality and overnight accommodation, while other nights will be spent in B&Bs and the occasional pub.

Sponsorship is going well, with over £12,000 raised so far, but the three walkers are appealing for as much support as possible. If you would like to support and sponsor the project, telephone Don Langford (01432 264284), Peter Strevens (01432 268585) or Bill Gregory (01432 355664) for more information.