A FULHAM funeral director's has donated a keyboard to its local church to encourage parishioners to play more music.

The congregation at Fulham Baptist Church can now use the instrument to practice in their spare time thanks to R Brain & G Gamble & Son who donated the keyboard on Thursday, May 2.

Unbeknown to them, the Fulham Road church was on the look out for a new piano as one of its young parishioners had been showing real promise, practising on the church organ after Sunday services.

It just so happened that the area manager of the company had a virtually new Casio keyboard and wanted to give it to a good home.

Philip Smyth, business manager for Dignity Funerals, which runs the funeral firm, said: “Every Sunday after the children, who attend Sunday school at Fulham Baptist Church, have finished their studies people worshiping in the church have become accustomed to hearing one of their children practicing finger exercises on the church piano.

“This has been going on for months and gradually the playing has improved and tunes and melodies have emerged for church members to enjoy.

“One day, the area manager of Dignity UK, Clark Kerr, quite out of the blue, asked Lynda van Cuylenburg, who works for the company, if her husband’s church could make use of a virtually new keyboard.

“Lynda was well aware of the need within Fulham Baptist church and she immediately accepted the generous offer.”

Mr Smyth presented the piano to Pastor Mark van Cuylenburg last week.

He said: “We are very grateful for this generous gift to our church fellowship. It will be put to good use and we look forward to hearing the results in our church worship in due course.”