Shoreham man sets out to beat the bounds, over and over again, to protect parish church

Stewardship officer Dave Worrall, 75, is setting off on Easter Monday on the first 16km walk and will continue his task all through April into early May, finishing on Rogation Sunday, May 5.

In total, he will walk almost 300 miles – the equivalent of more than 11 marathons – to help raise funds towards the £30,000 repair bill for the church's eastern wall and its Calvary War Memorial, as well as other projects.

Dave said: "There are three projects that require over £30,000 funding and I hope to get sponsorship for walking round the parish boundary 30 times in 35 days. Due to limited access at parts of the parish boundary, I have to extend the walk to 9.75miles (16 km). Hopefully, other congregation members will join me at times during some of the walks.

Shoreham church launches crowdfunding page to repair weather-beaten wall an war memorial

"Rogationtide is traditionally a time for 'beating the bounds', when parishioners walked around the parish, praying for successful sowing of crops and the subsequent harvest and thanking God for His generous provision.

"God has blessed me with good health and fitness so I’m challenging myself to do the walk 30 times to generate sponsorship and so help with our aim to pass on a church in good order to future generations.”

Dave is hoping to raise £6, 000 towards the overall total. To donate, visit www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/daveworralls300mileGOGSwalk

The Church of the Good Shepherd appeal is to cover the cost of repairing and waterproofing the wall, replacing the fragile mullion windows in the church and updating the ageing sound system.

Associate vicar, the Rev Jane Bartlett, said: “We are grateful to Dave for the amazing effort and we are hoping that, as a valuable landmark building at the heart of the Shoreham Beach community, the wider community will be inspired by his efforts and sponsor him so that these projects can get underway.”

Built in 1913, the King’s Walk church was almost demolished during the dark days of 1940 when all buildings on Shoreham Beach were knocked down to protect against the threat of German invasion.

After coming across a group of soldiers praying in the church, the officer in charge of demolition recognised its spiritual importance and the landmark was saved.

The current memorial commemorates the lives of the 12 local men who died during the First World War and the seven who perished during World War Two. Sadly, the wall on which the memorial hangs is badly cracked and is leaking water.

Today, Church of the Good Shepherd and its hall is a valued and important community facility, widely used by other local organisations and groups. On Sundays, the church often welcomes 100 members and visitors, attending its two or three services.

Jane added: “This remarkable building is open daily to visitors, from 9am to 5pm, and our visitors’ book has numerous references to the peace and comfort found within its walls. It’s a perfect place for prayer and meditation.

"If you can support our appeal, it will help us to preserve an important historical building, community space and spiritual home for many local people.”