Save The Parish - Cornwall

Cornish churchgoers’ deep concerns about the Diocese of Truro’s plans to slash clergy numbers and radically reorganise parishes were aired at a meeting in Parliament packed with people from across the country and at least 35 MPs. The meeting on Tuesday in the Houses of Parliament was organised by Save The Parish nationally for parliamentarians and concerned churchgoers to hear countrywide complaints over the Church of England’s radical reorganisation activities. MP Chris Loder (West Dorset), chairing the meeting, said that because of the pandemic “Parliament has been asleep at the wheel” in its constitutional oversight recently of the Church of England but that that would now change in light of the widespread concerns revealed both at last night’s meeting and elsewhere. "Although mainly Conservative MPs have spoken and offered support here tonight for STP and shown real interest in these issues, please don’t be mistaken - I know that that support is cross party and growing," ...

There is a Save The Parish meeting with MPs in Parliament on Tuesday 25 April - click here for details and to register and attend. And - particularly relevant for people from Kerrier, Penwith and Carnmarth North deaneries in west Cornwall: Derek Thomas MP (St Ives, Conserv.) has now confirmed both that he will go to the meeting in Parliament on 25 April and also that he will attend a meeting with concerned local people at 10.30am on Saturday 22 April, in the former library building, 62 Morrab Road, Penzance. All are very welcome. Mr Thomas has indicated that he has some sympathy for the Bishop - this was his somewhat confusing reply to one concerned correspondent: "I have some sympathy with what the Bishop of Truro is wanting to do in this diocese, but I’d like to see a greater level of support for the churches and their existing congregations in harmony with the development of the pioneer role." If you can, please attend. It's important to let Mr Thomas know that th...

Just to refresh everyone's memory - click here to read St Austell On The Way deanery plan . This plan has been described by some involved  - powerless to prevent what they clearly saw were ill-advised moves - as a 'disaster'.   St Austell was one of the first Cornish deaneries to embark on the controversial 'On The Way' process, driven forward by the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen. On The Way, which envisages developing out a 'mission church' model in deaneries across Cornwall, started to be rolled out strategically by the Epipiscoal College early in 2021, in deaneries - geographically isolated from each other - across Cornwall. In Kerrier, Penwith, East Wivelshire and St Austell - the first deaneries to undergo the On The Way planning process, churchgoers concerned about developments were told that they were 'the only ones' posing problems. Others had found the process relatively easy, they were told. They should put aside their mis...

Villagers and churchgoers in Warleggan and St Neot have had a busy Easter - and are now looking forward to May's Coronation Weekend and a series of local events during the summer months.  Andrew Lane reflects on the vital role of a priest as all this activity unfolds... We are fortunate in Warleggan and St.Neot. We have a non-stipendiary priest working and living in the centre of St.Neot parish He is excellent, he is hardworking  - going well beyond the 'official' 20 hours a week with pastoral visiting and community involvement. And he is very popular. Church attendance and the collection are healthy and increasing in both parishes. The other day we held a MAP meeting - Mission Action Plan. None of us were entirely sure of what it meant but it was well attended from across the two parishes. Before thinking about what more we could do we started by listing what we do already. Pause. A bit of head scratching. Then '' Well we hold two services every Sunday across both...

 Anyone interested in learning more about the scores of bureaucrats at Church House, Truro need go no further than this link https://trurodiocese.org.uk/contact-us/diocese-of-truro-contacts/ It's an astonishing and ever-growing list  - and very sadly extending as the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen presses forward with his controversial On The Way plans to cut clergy and create a new model of worship in Cornwall - with lay workers overseen by 'Oversight Ministers'. This list also shows that the Bishop - experiencing a growing backlash against these plans - may have been less than scrupulous in presenting reliable facts in his public statements. It is striking in particular to see the 'Change and Renewal' team grow: this is the team that Mounstephen said, in his May 2022 Presidential Address to the Diocesan Synod, was a 'fanciful' suggestion cooked up by the press.  In fact there is now a new team, headed up by the Director of Change and Renewa...