Businessman’s stunning gift saves historic church
THE historic church where Emmeline Pankhurst was married has been saved thanks to a massive donation from a businessman.
Mark Dwyer, 34, from Broughton, Salford, donated a whopping £6,000 to the #SaveStLukes campaign after coming across the Gofundme page on social media.
This Christmas would have been the last for St Luke’s Church in Liverpool Street, Weaste, after the uncertainty of the pandemic meant it only had enough money to last until Easter.
Members had launched a campaign to raise £10,000 that would would keep the church running for at least a year.
The beloved church had managed to garner a huge response from the community, raising £4,000 in less than a month. However, in an amazing act of kindness Mark donated the remaining £6,000 needed.
He said: “I’m a Catholic myself, a Salford lad and local businessman and their story just tugged at my heart strings. I know this time of year a lot of the older generations will rely on the churches, and if you’re in a position to help, then you should help. 2020 has been a challenging year, everyone is sticking together and trying to do right by each other. We’re Salford people – when there’s a crisis with people in need, we always rise to the occasion.”
Designed in 1865, St Luke’s Church is known as the ‘Church on the Hill’.
The building was placed on the Historical Heritage at Risk register in 2018 due to its leaky roof.
The state of the church has deteriorated since then with some parts having to be closed off due to safety concerns. Its issues had been exacerbated by the pandemic, with essential income from parish hall lettings cut off.
Sonya Whittle, a member of the Parochial church council and chairwoman of St Luke’s arts and drama society, said church members were ‘over the moon’ after mark’s intervention.
She said: “We’re ecstatic. It’s been three weeks of fundraising, but we’ve already reach our target – it’s amazing!
“We started off small with trying to fundraise £10,000, but we need a whole more than that so this fundraising will keep us going for a year.
“We asked the people of Salford to stand with us and save the church and they’re doing it. Especially this year, money’s short for people but in just one month we’ve reached our target and it gives us the will to carry on, we’re not prepared to let it go.”