Petition requesting moratorium on On The Way plans: please sign

As unease spreads about Church House plans - known as On The Way - which will result in radical restructuring of the C of E in Cornwall, Save The Parish Cornwall supporter Sue McClaughry has started a petition calling for a moratorium. Please click here to sign.

Sue writes:

The rural parishes across the whole of Cornwall are under threat, churches are at risk of falling into disuse and closure.

There should be deep concern about the current and planned alterations to the practices of the Church of England across the Diocese of Truro. It is our belief that the process entitled On The Way which has instigated large scale changes in almost every parish in the Diocese is fundamentally flawed. 

In many cases the plans will result in a reduction in clergy numbers, for example in one area there will be one priest overseeing 10 churches and 3 chapels, whilst in another two members of the clergy, one of whom will not work on Sundays, will be responsible for 23 churches. In these large new benefices people fear losing touch with their spiritual leaders as priests become administrators. People want ordained leadership , not a lay minister. They want a face to identify with, a clergyman or woman to bury their dead, to marry their children and christen the young. People want priests in parishes but the new Deanery Plans will take them away.

Furthermore, although assurances were given that local churches would remain under the control of a local PCC it now seems as though “Oversight ministers” responsible for large numbers of churches may not be willing to work with numerous different groups and PCCs may be forced to merge. 

Under considerable pressure from the Bishops to push through the changes, Deanery Plans were approved by local synods in a mockery of the democratic process. There was little regard to the opinions of ordinary parishioners or to the possible outcomes of such massive restructuring. In many areas the plans involve dramatic reduction in clergy numbers but they nonetheless assume an overly positive outcome in terms of growth whereas possibilities such as declining congregations and reduced income have been ignored. If allowed to continue these changes will result in disenfranchised congregations and the closure of churches.

We call for a moratorium on these controversial proposals pending proper consultation with local communities and serious consideration of alternative ways forward.