She said it was “the answer to their prayers” as the £30,000 can “be a seed” to go towards applying for grants and other fundraising efforts to go on to get the repairs done.
She believed the gold coins may have been hidden there four years ago by a mystery benefactor.
Lee said other churches in the area received similar mystery gifts in 2022 but St Wilfrid’s Church never found it until Good Friday, on 3 April.
She said: “For me, it’s significant because we’ve got more community backing now to the church, whereas four years ago we would have probably just spent it on the day-to-day running of it.
“Well now it’s there for a seed to get all the repairs done that need to be done.”
She added: “It’s wonderful news.”