Keep our church OPEN, say Merrymeet villagers
In today’s world it is interesting how the word ‘community’ is used: ‘community funding’, ‘communities pulling together’, ‘community workshops’, ‘congregational community’, ‘village community’. You get the idea.
Here in Merrymeet we do not have a village shop or village pub or any ‘community hub’.
We have a fight on our hands: to keep St. Mary’s Mission Church from closing this coming September.
This building is in the middle of our little village and serves us all as a place of worship and a well-used community hub. To lose this building would take away our only centre of community. Back in 1905 when the church was built, it was the community hub.
That is what any church is, then and now.
The Merrymeet and Pengover Green Residents Association (MPGRA) recently wrote an open letter to the Bishop of Truro with the village’s thoughts and views and a history of St. Mary’s.
The MPGRA did get a reply from the Bishop’s office acknowledging the letter but passing it onto Archdeacon Kelly Betteridge to deal with. The Association is still waiting to be contacted by the Archdeacon.
The MPGRA have also sent the open letter to our MP Sheryll Murray who promptly acknowledged the correspondence and said that she forwarded the MPGRA letter to the Bishop. When she gets a reply, it will be forwarded on to the association, she said. Again, nothing heard.
Lynette Luck of MPGRA wrote to HRH Prince Charles. He kindly replied, thanking the MPGRA for the letter and saying that we have taken the most direct course of action. He also sent his best wishes.
Interestingly, in today’s (Sunday 29th May 2022) early BBC Radio Cornwall programme with Anoushka Williams, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, said that “bishops don’t close churches as they don’t have that power”.
This repeated an earlier statement by him in an interview in recent months on BBC Spotlight - that churches would not be closed if the residents did not want the church to close.
The local PCC of Menheniot parish voted for the closure of Merrymeet church even though the Merrymeet members of the PCC voted for non-closure.
If the bishops take the stance that the closure of churches is a local decision and that “bishops don’t close churches as they don’t have the power,” is it safe to say that if all PCC’s decided to close churches throughout the UK the bishops don’t have the power to stop this happening?
There would be a lot of bishops and no churches.
At the beginning of the defence to keep St. Mary’s church open, at a meeting in St. Mary’s as chairman of the MPGRA, I stressed to the vicar the importance of communications and working together so we could keep St. Mary’s church open.
Sadly, communications and working together never happened and not for want of trying from the MPGRA side.
Communications from the Diocese of Truro diocese is poor – witness the lack of reply to our letter from the Bishop. Without communications we cannot work together.
Does this give confidence in the office of the Truro diocese? NO.
Here in Merrymeet, the village community and St. Mary’s congregation community are working together to for the forthcoming street party for the Queens Platinum Celebrations. It’s an important part of our life and one that we cherish.
Come on the Church, communicate. Listen - don’t just preach.
We have a fight on our hands: to keep St. Mary’s Mission Church from closing this coming September.
This building is in the middle of our little village and serves us all as a place of worship and a well-used community hub. To lose this building would take away our only centre of community. Back in 1905 when the church was built, it was the community hub.
The Merrymeet and Pengover Green Residents Association (MPGRA) recently wrote an open letter to the Bishop of Truro with the village’s thoughts and views and a history of St. Mary’s.
The MPGRA did get a reply from the Bishop’s office acknowledging the letter but passing it onto Archdeacon Kelly Betteridge to deal with. The Association is still waiting to be contacted by the Archdeacon.
The MPGRA have also sent the open letter to our MP Sheryll Murray who promptly acknowledged the correspondence and said that she forwarded the MPGRA letter to the Bishop. When she gets a reply, it will be forwarded on to the association, she said. Again, nothing heard.
Lynette Luck of MPGRA wrote to HRH Prince Charles. He kindly replied, thanking the MPGRA for the letter and saying that we have taken the most direct course of action. He also sent his best wishes.
Interestingly, in today’s (Sunday 29th May 2022) early BBC Radio Cornwall programme with Anoushka Williams, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, said that “bishops don’t close churches as they don’t have that power”.
This repeated an earlier statement by him in an interview in recent months on BBC Spotlight - that churches would not be closed if the residents did not want the church to close.
The local PCC of Menheniot parish voted for the closure of Merrymeet church even though the Merrymeet members of the PCC voted for non-closure.
If the bishops take the stance that the closure of churches is a local decision and that “bishops don’t close churches as they don’t have the power,” is it safe to say that if all PCC’s decided to close churches throughout the UK the bishops don’t have the power to stop this happening?
There would be a lot of bishops and no churches.
At the beginning of the defence to keep St. Mary’s church open, at a meeting in St. Mary’s as chairman of the MPGRA, I stressed to the vicar the importance of communications and working together so we could keep St. Mary’s church open.
Sadly, communications and working together never happened and not for want of trying from the MPGRA side.
Communications from the Diocese of Truro diocese is poor – witness the lack of reply to our letter from the Bishop. Without communications we cannot work together.
Does this give confidence in the office of the Truro diocese? NO.
Here in Merrymeet, the village community and St. Mary’s congregation community are working together to for the forthcoming street party for the Queens Platinum Celebrations. It’s an important part of our life and one that we cherish.
Come on the Church, communicate. Listen - don’t just preach.
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