After a lot of consultation and a great deal of calculation we have decided to postpone the auction scheduled for 5 September 2020 until a date to be decided in 2021.
Given the imponderables created by the pandemic this seems to be a wise decision. Mirfield auctions are popular not just because they raise money, they are great social events bringing together a lot of people and I have made a lot of friends because of them. So it seems right to wait for a more congenial atmosphere rather than try to dispose of the items already collected or promised.
I confess to feeling a little disappointed. However as Desperate Dan would say Nil Desperandum! Let’s look on this as an opportunity. About a decade ago I suggested that we have a one-off auction in which I believed that I could make £10,000. The first two auctions raised over £60,000 each and in total we have raised about £200,000. I hoped that this year’s would raise £10,000 and that this would be a good time to retire. Actually with pre-auction sales, what I already have in store and what has been promised we are quite near achieving that. So with a whole year ahead of us let’s be bold. £50,000 is not beyond our possibilities and that would make a grand total of a quarter of a million. Let’s do it!
The Community of the Resurrection and its various operations mean a lot to many people, the financial cost of the virus will be very, very heavy but with God’s help we can move mountains. Please pray for us, please support us.
Fr John CR