Successful year at St Mary’s For All
A church for all in town
A church project that received a surprise donation from the tenth-richest royal in the world is celebrating a second successful year.
St Mary’s For All – the former hall of St Mary’s Episcopal Church on Auchingramont Road in Hamilton – received a donation of £25,000 in November 2015 from His Majesty the Sultan of Oman to help with their restoration project.
The funds went towards the church in order for them to restore flags which were used in battle by the 2nd Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) during the Zulu campaign in South Africa in 1879.
Now fully refurbished, the old-fashioned church hall is now a modern multiuse venue and members have pledged to bring even more people doors.
The second annual general meeting of St Mary’s For All heard, from the trustees responsible for the operation of the venue, that in its second year of operation it has continued to develop successfully, is on a sound financial footing and is ready for further growth.
St Mary’s For All has been established as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Chair of the group, Alison Plummer, said: “The trustees were delighted to be able to give a very healthy report on progress at the AGM.
“We have had a great year, which included bringing in the very popular Chapterhouse Cafe from Bothwell to operate our The Beech Tree through its Cafe, a partnership that is proving very popular.”
St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Hamilton has a strong historic tie to the Cameronians Regiment and the St Mary’s For All project hit the headlines when the Sultan of Oman, who served in The Cameronians, made a significant donation to its development.
Reverend Ian Barcroft said: “In addition to the Sultan’s generous gift, the church community, and long standing users of the hall, worked hard for many years to raise the funds for St Mary’s For All.
“It might seem strange to then put it at arms-length, but that is the underlying principle behind this idea. We want a venue that is for all, regardless of any connection to this church, another church, another faith or no faith.”