Published on: 12/05/2026
St Mary’s Greasbrough’s place in the community is helping to gather people together during a time of transition and rebuilding. Fundraising activities are very much underway to help support some much-needed building repairs.
Most of St Mary’s needs structural work doing to help it continue as a worship space and community building, including specialist repairs to broken and vandalised windows, holes in the ceilings, rotted flooring and a full replacement of the kitchen. The church has also applied for Net Zero Quick Wins funding to help with some of the work, with the hope that the building can be ready in time for the Remembrance Day service in November.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up by local man Scott Brunt, who is rallying locals and businesses to support the church. Over £5,000 has been raised already, with all funds going towards the repair costs. Scott’s activism first started at last year’s Remembrance Service, where he saw the urgent need to help fix what is Greasbrough’s only church.
Maria Ellmore, Mission Project Officer for the Cornerstone Mission Area, said Scott’s building company and connections have helped bring in experts to help:
‘So many people are getting involved and helping to bring the costs down.
Everyone’s really chipping in and local companies are chipping in as well. Howdens are going to give us a new kitchen and the flooring’s already been done downstairs.
‘Scott’s got so much enthusiasm and it’s brilliant. We’ve obviously had to go through various forms and faculties, but the Diocese have been brilliant at getting everything done as quickly as possible, because we don’t want to lose that momentum.
‘We’re just incredibly grateful to everybody that’s helping. People we don’t know at the church are coming to help out and get involved.’
A football match, ‘Battle of the Badge’, took place between KCM Waste Management and South Yorkshire Police on Friday 1 May, with half the proceeds going to St Mary’s and the other half helping homeless veterans. A boxing match is also in the works at Greasbrough Working Men’s Club as an additional fundraiser for the campaign.
Maria added:
‘We’ve had a lot of visitors coming in just to have a look and people are wanting to donate. One person wants to build bird boxes for us to sell at our next fayre; these small acts of kindness really add up and the community of Greasbrough have just been fantastic.
‘A lot of people in Greasbrough don’t come on a Sunday morning but really feel that it’s their church and it’s their building, which is wonderful. It’s what we want them to think, because it is their building and their community. If I just stand outside the church for a few minutes, somebody will come and chat to me about something that’s going on in the community and how they want to do something for the church.
‘There’s a pride in the community that we have in Greasbrough. It’s a wonderful place to be and I’m very aware there is this responsibility we have as a church to be that community building for them.’