LITTLE Isla Foulger was only five weeks old when she died – but her memory will live on in a new font.

Isla Foulger in her incubator

Her grandparents, Mike and Mary Talbot, helped pay for the specially-designed font at their Gosport church as a permanent reminder of a special baby. Now worshippers can remember Isla each time a baby is baptised there.

Bishop Christopher will consecrate the new font at St Thomas the Apostle, Elson, at a service at 3pm on December 12. It’s part of an ongoing re-development of the church and church hall that began in 2005.

Isla Foulger was born against the odds in 2008 after she was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in the womb. The rare congenital heart defect would have left her needing a number of operations, had she survived.

She was born two months prematurely, weighing only 2.5 pounds, and so was too small to have the initial operation. It was hoped she would grow in the incubator, but that didn’t happen.

Isla was baptised in hospital before she died. Worshippers at St Thomas the Apostle bought a baptism candle for her, which was lit again at her funeral service. The same candle will be lit once again at Sunday’s service to consecrate the new font.

Mary Talbot said: “We have been on St Thomas’ PCC since the old font was removed and a commitment made to provide a new one. We wrote a booklet on the history of the church and the parish, we gave the proceeds to a font fund.

“Then, after Isla’s short life, we decided we would donate the rest of the money as a way of thanking everyone who had helped and supported the family before, during and after her life, particularly Father Simon and the congregation of St Thomas’, but also the many doctors and nurses who cared for her; parents of other patients in the intensive care unit; hospital chaplains; ambulance drivers; even a London taxi driver who refused a tip when he drove us to Evalina Children’s hospital.”

The innovative design for the new font (pictured above) comes from Fuller’s Fine Furniture in Weston-super-Mare. It features a wooden frame carved into a spinnaker-type motif, holding a deep blue glass bowl. Both elements of the structure celebrate traditional boat-building and seafaring traditions, reflecting the heritage of Elson and Hardway.

It will be located in the main aisle as a constant reminder to worshippers of the central importance of baptism.

 
The parish has also unveiled plans to replace its ageing church hall with a modern building to serve its community. Churchgoers hope to build their new complex beside their church. They aim to host a pre-school, scouts, youth club, Sunday School and other community groups there.
 
The project involves selling the site of their dilapidated church hall, a quarter of a mile away, and using the funds for a new one-storey building in the churchyard. It could include a multi-purpose hall, parish office, kitchen and toilets.
 
It’s the latest stage in a phased re-development of the church that began in 2005 and has seen a modern entrance created, the floor levelled, new chairs and a more cost-effective infra-red heating system – all for less than £45,000.

 
The vicar, the Rev Simon Rundell (pictured above on the site of the new hall), said: “We want to build the new church hall to provide a high-quality community resource for the people of Elson. Quite frankly, they deserve better than the hall we have at the moment. The demand for community space here is high and all three local halls are fully booked.
 
“As the pre-school are there every weekday, we’ve incorporated their suggestions, including an outdoor area where the children can play. The new hall would also mean that our Sunday School, which has outgrown our narthex, would have places to meet.
 
“We’re able to do this only by working in partnership with a developer who can buy the site of the old hall from us. We aren’t a rich parish, and everything we’ve done since 2005 has been incremental, and within our resources. Worshippers levelled the floor themselves and individuals bought carpet tiles.
 
“We’re also very grateful to Isla Foulger’s family, who have paid for the new font. It was a miracle that Isla was even born, and our parish was keen to support the family at the time, and in the months and years following her death.
 
“We believe baptism is the keystone of our faith, and we return to our baptismal promises each time we meet here. So it’s appropriate that it is central in our church.”