Windfall for winning photograph will boost derelict church hall funds

The image of a group of volunteers from Freedom Church, Mereside, pausing to reflect while clearing a derelict church hall they hope to call their new home, beat more than 600 other

entries from across the country.

Freedom Church had already received £1,500 for becoming the North West regional finalist earlier this year and the whole congregation has been eagerly awaiting the final results ever

since.

The picture was submitted to the Parish Pixels – run by Ecclesiastical Insurance – contest by Rev Linda Tomkinson, from Freedom Church.

The winning snap was taken by churchwarden Amanda Garwood, who is also mother of the two children in the photo – Raven and Willow.

Amanda received her Bachelor of Arts in Photography degree from The University of Lancaster’s Blackpool and the Fylde College on the same day the competition winners were

announced.

She said: “The £5,000 prize money will make a huge difference to our church.

“We’ve done it as a team and I’m super proud.”

Freedom Church was born out of the closure of St Wilfrid’s Church on Blackpool’s Mereside Estate.

Initially services were held in Linda’s home before moving into a council-owned building.

The popularity of the church has meant it has outgrown that facility, so Linda and her team have been busy raising much needed funds to renovate and reopen the old church hall, which

has been derelict for years.

Linda said: “We are delighted to have won this national competition.

“The prize money is very welcome of course. But for us, it’s more about raising awareness of what is possible if people just use their imagination, think outside the box and trust God for the

growth of their churches.

“Our approach was summed up in the caption for the picture, which said: ‘We may not have our own church building and we may live in an area of deprivation, but we believe that it doesn’t

matter where you meet to worship God, as long as you meet to worship God’.

“We’ve raised £75,000 to repair the roof but the inside will cost a further £240,000.

“So this prize money is really significant for us and will support furthering the mission of Freedom Church.”