OUR appeal to raise £50,000 to save the Accrington Pals Chapel housed in beautiful and historic St John’s Church now stands at £26,956.

Our target would enable the church to re-open after essential repair work while further funding is sought from groups such as English Heritage.

Donations and the sale of merchandise and refreshments at the church totalled £205 this week while an anonymous gift of £50 was received at the Observer offices.

The church is holding an Easter service at its temporary home, St Christopher’s High School, on Easter Sunday, 23 March, at 9.30am.

Women are asked to wear their Easter bonnets and children to decorate a hard-boiled egg and take it along.

There are prizes to be won.

Merchandise on sale for the appeal will include books at £5 to £8, keyrings, pens, pencils and bookmarks, the latter featuring poems written by some of the children of the junior church and made to order by Marilyn Hoyle.

More details are on the church website http//www.stjohns-accrington.org.uk/index.html. Or you can contact appeal organisers by email at savestjohns@googlemail.com