Save The Parish - Cornwall

Locked out Merrymeet villagers sing carols in rain... Bishop delivers his Christmas message from his armchair Villagers in Merrymeet, east Cornwall, braved rain and freezing temperatures to hold carols on a local drive this weekend after Truro's Bishops closed their church this autumn and changed the locks. As they sang in the cold and wet, the Bishop of Truro recorded an upbeat Christmas message from the comfort of his front room. Under a hastily-built shelter, villagers gathered around a sound system in a garage for their Christmas celebration - yards from the church which was closed in mid October and the locks changed despite strong local opposition. Last year, due to Covid, they sang carols outside the church. This year, they had hoped to be inside. This was not to be. "Even though the weather was far from ideal our carol service still went ahead and was well attended," said Residents' Association chairman Peter Luck. "Approximately 30 turned up to sing an...

The Diocese of Truro's major restructuring and clergy-cutting exercise On The Way is felt nowhere more keenly in Penwith, one of the first deaneries to vote through an unpopular and challenging restructuring plan.  The Episcopal College recently failed to recruit a Rural Dean responsible for a new 'split' deanery into East Side and West Side and oversee parish re-organisation : only one application was received. What are the proposals on the table? How and why has this situation developed? Our Bishops, sadly, share the view of others in the hierarchy of the Church of England that there is little future for parishes as a means of delivering the Gospel. Key to this has been a national paper called the 'Mission and Pastoral Measure' which argued that congregations with an average congregation of 20 or fewer were unviable. A way forward was proposed - concentrating clergy and financial resources in 'Transforming Mission hubs in some cities and towns. (In Cornwall,...

Last Christmas villagers in Merrymeet, east Cornwall, gathered around their village church porch for joyous carol-singing – glad to be together after the Covid lockdowns, even if still outside. This year – no such luck. They’ll be gathering on the concrete driveway of one of the village’s 60 houses to try and raise Yuletide cheer. It was the same for last month’s Remembrance Sunday - they were reduced to standing in the road and decorating the church gates with poppies to honour local war dead. Why? Because Cornwall’s Bishops and Archdeacons shut the church in October and changed the locks so no-one could enter, whatever the reason. Menheniot’s media savvy priest in charge Rev Becca Bell, who oversees the historic Mission Church and five others in south east Cornwall, celebrated the last service on 9 October 2022. “ The weight of privilege and sadness and hope is huge ,” the self-described ‘wife, mum, film lover, gin drinker, knitter and miniatures enthusiast’ said on Twitter afterward...

If you are worried about developments in Cornwall - plans for radical parish re-organisation and our Bishops' drive towards 'Transforming Mission hubs' in the Diocese of Truro - then please think about writing to your MP. Save The Parish is organising a meeting at the Houses of Parliament on 25 April 2023 at 6pm. It will be led by Chris Loder, MP for west Dorset. We are keen for as many MPs as possible to attend so they can learn about what's happening in Cornwall - and elsewhere in the country. Anyone can contact their MP at any time. If you do not know your MP's email address, you can find it via this l ink.   FIND YOUR MP Please think about writing. Below is a suggested template with a Cornish angle for you to work with - and add any details you wish. I am worried about the future of our parish churches in Cornwall and am writing to ask for your support with a campaign that I have joined: ‘Save The Parish’. There is a meeting taking place in Committee Room 14 at ...