Two weeks ago thieves stole the path stones leading up to the entrance to St Mary's Lymm. It was the second time this has happened in just over a year. At the time the Vicar asked if we could delay the story until she had better news.
It was the morning of Tuesday 17 August 2021 when the Rector of St Mary's Lymm, Reverend Beverley Jameson, woke to discover that the path ot the church entrance had been stolen. The York stone paving slabs were taken at around 10.15pm Monday 16 August. The same thing had happened about a year earlier. The resulting damage made access to the front door of the church impossible and caused much distress to the church congregation and those visiting graves.
Beverley, posted photos of the path on social media and the news quickly spread to the wider community. Hundreds sent messages of support and there was a general feeling of incomprehension; "Why would people do this to a church?" By stealing the paving slabs, the theives have taken so much more from the community that a few pieces of stone. They have deprived people from the wedding and baptisms that they had hoped for and made it more difficult for those, perhaps with with disabilities, to attend services or to simply sit and pray on their own.
Thankfully the respons from the community was amazing. Some people donated York stone to repair the path and Lymm resident Zoe Johnson set up a Go Fund me page Fundraiser by Zoe Johnson. The good news is that the Church is working in partnership with Warrington Borough Council, who have agreed to undertake the relevant repairs in due course.
Reverend Beverley Jameson Rector St Mary the Virgin Lymm said "It is just wonderful that the people of Lymm whether they have a faith or no faith have supported St Mary’s church and appreciate what we do in the community. Thank you to everyone who has donated York stone and contributed to the Go Fund Me Page to help repair St Mary's pathway. Lymm truly is a wonderful caring community."
If you have seen anything, please inform Cheshire Police The incident number is IML1063118.