AN appeal has been launched to raise money for St Matthew's Church in Bordon, ahead of the 140th anniversary of the building in May 2009. The church was built in 1869 to serve a small village, and now serves Blackmoor and Whitehill and is the parish church for over 5000 people. Parish secretary Tracey Kirkby said: "The church now needs some care and attention to smooth away some of the wrinkles of her first 140 years, and to make her ready for future generations. "To do this, money needs to be raised and the church is appealing to anyone who values the building to help." The launch of the fundraising appeal began on Sunday, September 30, with an introduction from Reverend Will Hughes. Lord Selborne followed with a short talk, and introduced Brenda Longman who then sang Be Thou my Vision. Champagne was kindly donated and a celebratory reception followed. Leading up to the event, a team of volunteers had each sold competition tickets to win one of a dozen teddy bears. The winners had to correctly guess where in the world the teddy bears had come from. Six hundred pounds was raised, and presented to the church to start the appeal in style. Many other events are planned for the next 18 months, to get involved in the fundrasing, contact Reverend Will Hughes on 01420 473 548
