Bishop Alastair (left) with Moore Large Sales Director, Gary Mather (centre) and Tim Gibbon from the Derbyshire Building Society

Derby bike manufacturer Moore Large & Co, in Sinfin Lane, Derby, will be welcoming a special visitor on Friday when they measure up the Bishop of Derby for a new bike he will use in a sponsored bike ride later this year.

The Rt Rev’d Dr Alastair Redfern, and his wife Caroline, will be taking part in an annual sponsored bike ride to raise money for the Derbyshire Churches & Chapels Preservation Trust, an event which attracts hundreds of cyclists every year to raise money for the development and maintenance of Derbyshire’s church buildings.

The involvement of the Bishop and his wife will help to highlight the event, providing an opportunity for him to demonstrate the importance of church buildings in their communities and how they might best be supported and developed. Some high profile local sponsors have signed up to help him, including Moore Large, which has pledged two bikes. The bikes will be auctioned on eBay after the bike ride on Saturday, September 8th, to raise further cash.

Moore Large Sales Director, Gary Mather, who will meet the Bishop for his visit on Friday said: “We are delighted to be able to support this worthwhile fund raising activity and hope Bishop Alastair and his wife Caroline have a comfortable ride on our bicycles”

The specially selected bikes from Moore Large will carry the Bishop and his wife along a challenging route around Derbyshire’s landscape, starting in the north in the Chesterfield area and finishing in Derby. Bishop Alastair and Caroline are currently in training, working up their fitness levels and rallying support for the event.

Other sponsors like the Derbyshire Building Society, Samways, BHS, Woolworths, Westfield Shopping Centres and Plantscape are just some of the other Derbyshire organisations who are getting behind the Bishop and donating equipment or other services to support the fundraising.

Bishop Alastair said: “Already I have been greatly encouraged by the number of businesses and other organizations willing to support us in this important event. Funds are needed to help develop our churches for better use in our communities and there is a great deal of potential in what churches can offer to local community groups of all kinds. Often it is down to congregations to fund development out of their own pockets, as well as maintain these ancient buildings, which in many cases are magnificent examples of architecture. This charity helps to ease that burden, preserving and cultivating these sacred, holy and very useful spaces for generations to come.”

ENDS

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