“I just wanted to let you know that The Tablet gets better and better with every week. My son says he has been drawn back to his faith thanks to it.”

We have been rejuvenated by the response to our Appeal. The money raised will enable us to invest in several projects we’ve dreamt of for years but which had always been out of reach till now; but it’s your messages of support and solidarity that have really touched us. We are so grateful to Edward Stourton for leading this Appeal. We feel we are amongst friends: attentive and engaged; sometimes critical; always loyal. 

Reader after reader used the same word to describe what The Tablet means to them: “Lifeline”. One reader told us: “Amid the encircling gloom, your light continues to give us all hope.” Our Appeal is ending this week: but do please continue to write to tell me if you think we’ve published something spectacularly good – and when you think we’ve let the side down.