Church destroyed by fire needs £1m for repairs
BBCA church described as "a pillar of the community" that was destroyed by a fire needs an additional £1m to complete repairs.
The congregation at All Saints in Christchurch, Mudeford, is raising the money to make the new building more accessible.
In July 2022, 70 firefighters were sent to tackle a blaze that was caused by an electrical issue.
Church warden Chris Green said: "It wasn't only services that were held there, during the week we had other events and groups too."
Most of the cost of the rebuild is being covered by the insurer, but the church need just over £1m to pay for the rest of the plans.
Nobody was injured in the fire, but as a result the roof was destroyed and the building was gutted by flames.
Reverend Kathy Hicken said she also wanted to make the building more accessible and user friendly.
"The church used to be not very accessible for people with disabilities and for prams and buggies, it was built as a 19th Century fisherman's chapel," she said.
"It's so people with disabilities can get to every part of the building very easily, the toilets are easy to use all that kind of thing.
"We really want to make it a bright and accessible space for the community to use and be welcomed in."
So far £65,000 has been raised through fundraising and donations.
The church warden, Chris Green, said she "can't wait to serve the community again".
She said: "A lot of our other events, and we did so much from the church, have all been farmed out to different places and that was a problem for us to start with because we did so many activities in the church.
"It was a case of finding places that could accommodate all these extra facilities, but they are all over the place here in Mudeford so we can't wait really to get back in to our church where we can be ourselves."
Following the incident in 2022, an outside service was held for the congregation of the All Saints church to come together.
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