A LITTLE church is celebrating after reaching a 'mountain' of a milestone and raising almost £60,000 for a badly-needed new roof.

St Mary’s Church in Croesyceiliog has raised its target amount in just three years, through a ‘Raise the Roof’ appeal.

With a regular congregation size of between 30 and 40 people, the church launched the campaign after the diocese carried out an inspection and ruled the roof needed to be replaced.

With no way of covering the total amount itself, the diocese encouraged the church to hold fundraising events and themed evenings.

Reverend Robert Langton said it had been embraced by the entire community.

“Most of the funds have come from the churchgoers or the community around us – some people who don’t even attend the church donated," he said.

“It was a bit of a mountain for us at the start, as we are not a particularly big church.

“But the diocese had helped and this has been a real team effort."

Parishoners and residents have also been able to purchase roof slates in memory of their loved ones, as part of the fundraising campaign.

“The church has been standing for over 100 years and due to the new roof, it will remain here for the next 100 years,” added Rev Langton.

Church warden Paul Austin said he had his doubt at times, but said it was a testament to the churchgoers and the surrounding community that the money had been raised so quickly.

“It was a big ask for the church to be able to afford the £60,000 to repair the roof," he said.

“The timeframe in which we achieved the target was most surprising – we took only three years and most people thought it would take around five.

“There are so many people who we would like to thank, from the Diocese, to the architects and contractors; the local people and community councils; and the congregation too.

The dedication of the roof will be held at a special thanksgiving ceremony next month.

“We hope that our achievement can inspire other groups to reach for their own goals,” added Rev Langton.