A mosque in Surrey has helped congregants of the 150-year-old church raise money to reopen their place of worship.
The Grade-II listed All Saints Church in the village of Tilford was in urgent need of restoration, but it was going to cost a lot more than the church could afford.
When parts of its ceiling began to fall down in October 2021, the building was deemed unsafe – in order to reopen the doors, the congregation needed to come up with £110,000.
The Mubarak Mosque was keen to use the opportunity to build bridges between the two faith groups.
Their youth group set to work organising an interfaith charity race, with church congregants, local schoolchildren and villagers, and hundreds of young Muslims and Imams taking part in a 5k or 10k run in order to raise the funds the church needs.
Prior to the event, the church had raised £70,000, taking it more than halfway towards it’s intended target.
However, the pews still remain covered in bin bags, and attendees are yet to return to services in the building.
The Mubarak Mosque officially opened in 2019 and includes a sports hall and equestrian centre.