THE congregation at a Tenbury church and their supporters are singing to keep their spirits and the temperature up.

Fundraising is top of the agenda at Tenbury Methodist Church in a bid to find the money needed to fix a major heating problem.

It started when gas engineers condemned the heating boiler at the Tenbury Methodist Church in Cross Street.

The bill to replace it will be in the order of £2,500 and that is a lot of money for a church where the congregation is typically between 15 and 20 people.

“The inspection found that the gas boiler was no longer usable,” said Donna Bradley, from the church.

“We have been using electrical heaters but this is not a long-term solution and it is starting to get cold.”

She said that this was particularly serious as a significant number of the congregation are older people.

It is hoped that the money will be found to put in a new heating boiler before the autumn turns to winter.

There is a busy programme of fund raining including a ‘variety show’ at the church where the performers included the Tenbury British Legion Choir.

A show will also be staged on Saturday, November 26 at 3pm featuring the Tenbury Town Band and Christmas music.

“We find that people are often reluctant to come out in the evening and so afternoon is best,” added Donna Bradley.

“People enjoy a good sing and it is a great way to keep warm.”