As a volunteer at Calke Abbey I get to know roughly how many hundreds of thousands of pounds it takes each year to maintain the house, the facilities and the estate. The money for all this comes from our wonderful visitors when they pay their entrance fees or buy a coffee.

The National Trust is an organisation unlike our churches which are not – they are families. Sometimes dysfunctional true, but still a family. This family has the full responsibility for all maintenance of our church buildings and the surrounding churchyards, car parks etc; not to mention making a significant contribution to the running of the diocese and the salary of our priest. No financial help is available save, if we are lucky, a grant for a specific project.

Most of our church family give as much as they are financially able but it is far from enough. All three of our churches are running at an annual deficit saved only by generous bequests, gifts and rapidly diminishing reserves. I am appealing to those of you who consider yourselves occasional members of our church family or do not wish to be considered a member at all, but who value having a church within your village. A church where you may attend occasional seasonal services and where you may choose to celebrate milestones in your life. If churches can’t pay their way then villages lose them. A listed building may remain but as a house, apartments or a commercial enterprise and car parks and surrounding land is ripe for development. I ask you to consider what you value within your village.