A community champion is to take on a charity challenge to help an iconic church in dire need of massive repair work.
Over a number of years, the gutters, brick work and windows at St John the Evangelist in Barrhead have begun to leak water into the interior walls of the building, resulting in severe damp.
An urgent pay out of £10,000 from the National Churches Trust in the run up to Christmas helped towards the £900,000 needed to fund the first stage of its restoration project, which will make the church wind and watertight.
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This year Anwar Rafiq will strive to boost their funds even further by tackling the Dundee Kiltwalk in August, an event he previously took on to raise cash for St Thomas the Apostle church in Neilston and their roof appeal in 2024.
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The 56-year-old said: “I saw a plea that St John’s were looking for help to fundraise like I did for the church in Neilston, so I thought I can’t help Neilston and not help Barrhead.”
A veteran of many Kiltwalks, the Neilston resident is no stranger to helping others by completing charity walking events.
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Last year alone he completed three Kiltwalks for cancer charity Rays of Hope, as well as the Stride by the Clyde for mental health charity Mind.
Monsignor John Tormey, Parish Priest at St John the Evangelist, welcomed his support and said: “our friend and supporter Anwar Sadiq has very kindly offered to do the Dundee Kiltwalk in August to raise funds for our restoration work here at St John’s.
“We are in the process of setting up a Go Fund Me page for Anwar.”
The works to make the church wind and watertight will involve installing a new system of gutters and stripping the plaster off the west-facing walls, which will then need to dry out before being replastered.
The windows will also be resealed and regrouted.
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This week contractors will come out to inspect the site before submitting their tender price for the job.
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When the contractor is selected, the church hopes the work will start as soon as possible and is expected to take eight to nine months.
During the renovations, Sunday and weekday masses and services, including baptisms, first holy communion days, and the celebration of funeral requiem masses, will take place in the parish hall.
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The grant from the National Churches Trust was the second that St John’s won last year after also receiving £25,000 from the Benefact Trust towards the project.
More funds were also raised in 2025 through the church’s summer fete, as well as through other events and one-off donations.
The church also raffled off a Dr Who script signed by Peter Capaldi at Christmas time in aid of the project.
The script was donated by the Glasgow-born star who was the 12th actor to play The Doctor in the world’s longest-running sci-fi drama.
“Our fundraising team have been working with great diligence and imagination to help raise money for the restoration project,” added Monsignor Tormey.
“They organised a St Andrew’s Ladies Day on November 30 with tea, sandwiches and prosecco, which raised £3600. It was a great success and enjoyable social event.
“They also organised a Hogmanay celebration which raised £3,500 with a further £500 added recently from an anonymous businessman.
“It was very much a family event with young and old and a good DJ, to welcome in the new year.
“Our next fundraising event is on Sunday February 22, which will be a spring fling, and another opportunity for people to meet socially.”
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