However, the needs of our buildings never quite go away. The Vestry Notes elsewhere in this issue make mention of an electrical inspection (a Periodic Inspection Report, more specifically). This has been completed and we await the report itself: already, though, it is clear that the wiring requires substantial remedial work . At the same time, the Vestry is about to appoint surveyors to undertake a Quinquennial Survey of the property. Unexpected problems notwithstanding, this will give us a programme of work that will need to be done over a period of time. (Despite the efficient new heating system, we are all aware of drafts from corroded and ill-fitting metal window frames in the nave.)
The leak was finally traced to the most inaccessible part of the void under the church. Somewhere close to Hew Lorimer's carving of the Madonna and Child a badly corroded pipe had split. Although just a few yards from the access hatch by the entrance to the chapel, below ground it was a long )and damp) crawl through a very constricted pipe duct to locate the cause of the trouble.
Almost before my eyes, our financial reserves were disappearing into, quite literally, a hole in the ground. Because of its position and the cramped working area beneath the church floor, it would be a lengthy, difficult - and therefore costly - exercise to repair.
However, there was worse news to come. Due to the state of the 80-year old, cast iron pipework, it was very likely, if not inevitable, that any attempt to cut out and replace sections of pipe would cause fissures to open up in adjacent parts. Remedial work was extremely unlikely to be successful; suddenly the word was not 'repair', but 'renew.'
The Vestry acted swiftly and the dark cloud of Easter Week began to suggest the possibility of a silver lining. Christopher Dunphy Ecclesiastical Ltd, a firm which specializes in church heating systems (and which replaced the system in St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth a few years ago), had made a report and given a quotation, at the Vestry's request, a couple of years back, as we began to work towards replacing both the heating and the nave windows.
The first glimpse of silver was that Dunphy's had an unexpected gap in their schedule for this summer and that, were to be in a position to commission the work by the end of May, we could take advantage of a substantial discount. All we needed (more or less) was the money to pay for the work. An appeal was launched, the letter sent to the congregation seeking donations and interest-free loans, sources of other funding investigated. Further silver was revealed when it became clear that, because of our listed building status, VAT was not payable on this work. The figure we were seeking dropped a little further.
The response from the congregation - and one or two 'friends' of All Saints has been truly remarkable. Although large sums of money will be borrowed, and therefore need to be repaid, we can go ahead with the work, which is scheduled to begin on Monday 13th July and will continue for 5 or 6 weeks.
Although Sundays should not be affected, it is likely that there will be no weekday Masses during this period as the church needs to be closed to all but those working on the system, for obvious reasons of health and safety and security. Details will be made available as soon as possible - and regular reports of progress given. For now, please let me re-iterate my thanks to those who have been working hard to make this happen - not least those of you who have given or promised financial assistance.
As the new system will be of a different type to the existing one, it is expected that we shall be able to maintain a steadier (and warmer) temperature during the cooler months, which will come as good news to many of you! The system is designed to use the fabric of the church itself to retain heat from the new boiler and radiators. Watch this space!
With every blessing
Fr Jonathan Mason