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Save The Parish Cornwall proposes a new 'way forward' for Cornwall as supporters are elected to Diocesan Synod

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Save The Parish supporters from across Cornwall have been elected on to the Diocesan Synod as lay members. This can only be a good thing and should result in a more balanced debate.   Click here for the full list of lay, and clergy, members. Of course there are differences of opinion. But nothing can be gained by anger and polarization: there is a better way. In this spirit we have published The Way Forward: A new direction for the Diocese of Truro. This statement accompanies our dossier ‘Don’t Turn Off The Lights, Bishops’.   Click here to read the new statement.   Copies will be distributed across Cornwall via Diocesan Synod reps. This statement sets out constructive views for the future and includes a proposal for a serious, constructive and costed alternative new direction for the Diocese of Truro’s “On The Way” programme for change. This calls for restructuring to be based around 100 stipendiary parish-based priests, supported by 12 curates, in our churches cross the co
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The Once and Future Parish by Alison Milbank - Online Book Launch and Discussion 4 June, 6pm to 7.30pm

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The Once and Future Parish  is a defence of parish ministry at a time of great upheaval in the Church of England. Alison Milbank, co-author of the influential and provocative For the Parish (2010), challenges the ecclesiology, theological anthropology, and analysis of secularism that are explicit or implicit in recent initiatives such as the 'Emerging Church' programme and the Strategic Development Fund. She offers a striking and encouraging vision of what the parish model could provide in an anxious world. Alison, who is Professor of Theology and Literature at the University of Nottingham and Canon Theologian of Southwell Minister, will be in conversation with two prominent theologians.   The Revd Dr Jeremy Morris  is a church historian and author of The People's Church: A History of the Church of England (2023). He is the National Advisor for Ecumenical Relations for the Church of England.   The Very Revd Dr Frances Ward  is former Dean of St. Edmundsbury Ca
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How a small rural church can thrive....St Sampsons, South Hill

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Judith Ayers is church warden, Reader, restoration project co-ordinator, PCC member and much more at St Sampsons Church, South Hill , Cornwall.  She explains how people's vision and enthusiasm have helped to revitalise this historic church St Sampson’s Church is an excellent example of a small rural church which is thriving. Our worshiping community has grown and we are valued and supported by the wider community. South Hill parish has 500 people and we are the very visible Christian presence in that community. The last few years have had their problems, but we have overcome them. Having a vision for the future has inspired and enthused us. We have enabled change and progress, whilst retaining the important heritage and community feel that St Sampson’s has. Small deeply rural churches are important for the communities in which they sit and hold much affection within the community. To lose places like St Sampson’s would be a travesty and they need to be supported and encourage
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REVAMPED DEANERY PROPOSALS ACKNOWLEDGE NEED FOR NAMED PAID PARISH PRIESTS IN PARISHES

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 A crucial deanery synod meeting in west Penwith next week will test both diocesan commitment to maintaining levels of ministry and the deanery’s ability to negotiate with Church House while taking heed of the concerns of anxious churchgoers. At the meeting - the latest step in the Diocese of Truro’s controversial On The Way restructuring plans - there will be a vote on hotly contested clergy numbers.  Thrashing out a plan for the Land’s End peninsula has been beset with problems due to a high number of vacancies as well as recruitment difficulties. The situation is complex: Penzance has some of the highest levels of poverty in Cornwall and the area has some of the county’s most historic churches and fiercely loyal church communities. In the spotlight now: the Diocese’s commitment to increasing number of priests in post and its stated priority ‘to answer the ministry needs of the deanery'. The latest West Penwith Area Ministry Proposal - click here to read   - includes the welc
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The diocese of Truro is going against the spirit of Communion by Extension in authorising its widespread use: Alison Milbank

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Save The Parish's co-founder Alison Milbank throws a spotlight on the Diocese of Truro's deeply flawed approach to Communion by Extension. Alison is Professor of Theology and Literature at the University of Nottingham and Priest Vicar and Canon Theologian at Southwell Minster Communion By Extension: A Critique 1.       1. In legislation, it was only intended for occasional, ‘exceptional’   use. In 2001 the Archbishops’ Council agreed to allow Extended Communion, in which the consecrated elements would be taken the same day from a central benefice eucharist (as was envisaged) and shared by people in another church in the group. The legislation stressed that this practice should not replace regular eucharists. 2.       2. The diocese of Truro is going against the spirit of the legislation in authorising its widespread use . It is presented as regular liturgical fare, as a way of dealing with the rationing of priestly ministry in their ‘On the Way’ pastoral reorganisation
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