A CHURCH asked members to donate more money after it forecast a loss of more than £7,000 this year.

In a newsletter the Reverend Ian Blay urged each parishioner to reassess how much they gave to St Wilfrid’s in Mobberley.

However, last week he said the church had no funding problems and was just reminding the congregation of its responsibilities.

“There’s no crisis,” he said.

“We’ve simply reminded people just to keep a focus on giving and not to be complacent.”

Last year the church had a surplus of £4,000.

But now Mr Blay has revealed information about the dip in the church’s finances.

In the parish’s newsletter he said by January St Wilfrid’s was expected to have fallen well short of raising the amount needed for its running costs.

That was mainly because it was forced to spend more than £5,000 on repairs to the grade I listed church’s drains.

The church also made less than expected from its harvest festival events.

That left it facing a £7,000 loss this year. The committee met to discuss the problem and agreed the church should ask its members for more funding.

“The point is that we look for funding from the congregation, not outside,” said Mr Blay.

St Wilfrid’s has asked members to think about the amount they give and when they last increased it.

Mr Blay also reminded the congregation that they could set up standing orders.

“We basically just asked them to review where they were up to,” he said.

Mr Blay does not want the church to always be approaching people for money. But he said the time was right to remind parishioners about its needs.

He believes some new members of the congregation may not even understand the way their fellow worshippers donate. “This is also addressing them as well,” he said.