Save The Parish - Cornwall

Licensing at Gwinear Church on 5 March 2024 of the Revd Michelle Porter-Babbage as Priest in Charge with Bishop Hugh (left) A big Save the Parish Cornwall welcome to the Rev Michelle Porter-Babbage to Godrevy Benefice. In On The Way restructuring negotiations ( click here for a timeline ), Truro Diocese tried to cut this post to 0.5fte - causing years of upset. Penwith Deanery, knowing the parishes, took the issue back to the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, and his team – and eventually prevailed.  Rev Michelle's post is full-time, as it should be . The message here is that deanery On The Way plans are not set in stone, and that popular pressure and resistance can lead to productive change.

  Michael Victor’s timely article in The Church Times, with superb accompanying cartoon by Bill Caldwell , exemplifies the dire actions of dioceses across the country. Our only criticism should be that the bruisers outside the door don’t look as threatening enough as in real life. Click here to read Michael Victor's article. For centuries, the followers of Christ have been known as a flock of sheep, with Jesus the Good Shepherd and ordained clergy acting as His deputies. The analogy is becoming more and more apt as we discover that dioceses across England, led by their bishops and approved by the Archbishop of Canterbury, are behaving more and more like packs of wolves. Wolves, the traditional enemy of sheep,   encircle them, cutting off their escape to their folds - their churches. We should remember that ultimately, sheep are killed and eaten, taken to the abattoir before being devoured. Elderly sheep are easy prey for wolves, which will eat them but prefer the juicy meat ...

A moratorium is possible, Bishop Save The Parish Cornwall's Andrew Lane has some constructive suggestions for the acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson There is no disguising that 'On The Way' has been a distinctly poor example of public 'consultation'.There are now deep rifts in the Church particularly between the Diocese and the laity, there is despair and most disturbingly a great deal of distrust. We have to fix this. The former Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Bishop Philip Mounstephen has presided over this mess and has now shimmied off to new and unsuspecting pastures. This has left Bishop Hugh with a lot on his plate - for which we could all feel some sympathy - but it also affords him a great opportunity to heal division and right the sinking ship. To start at the beginning, what would have be the best way to conduct an On The Way process that would have involved all interested parties and stood the best chance of a successful outcome?  Act...

Click here to read our dossier, published today to coincide with a meeting with the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, and Diocesan Secretary Rev Simon Cade. It contains testimonies from people across Cornwall who are dismayed and alarmed at the Bishops' On The Way plans that will change the nature of the Church of England in Cornwall forever. Bishop Hugh has the power to press the 'pause' button as the controversial plans attract national attention. We are urging him to have the courage to do so. How does healing of the church of Cornwall now happen?  Many have been badly hurt and threatened…. Can a safe place be created where all might flourish? We are calling for a moratorium, an increase in clergy numbers, a halt on the sale of parsonages and an end to oversight ministry.

Abandoned church in Wales As radical plans for church restructuring go forward in Cornwall - backed by the Bishop of Truro the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen and the Bishop of St German's the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson- the first 'pastoral re-organisation' schemes are now being published. These are part of On The Way , the Bishops' vision of a radically different Church of England in Cornwall. If you are at all worried about the 'mega benefices' proposed - e.g. in Kerrier 23 churches are to be brought together under one rural dean - it's important to start making your concerns known. (Click here to read the draft proposals for Kerrier). The patron of your parish could be an important ally: please think about contacting him or her. Patrons have the power to object. Future generations are likely to look back at these extraordinary plans with confusion and dismay.  Similar plans in Wales have resulted in widespread church closures. Click here to read Save The Parish's f...

 A brilliant article by Giles Fraser - click here to read . Giles Fraser is a journalist, broadcaster and Vicar of St Anne's, Kew. Sadly we’re dealing here in Cornwall with the managerialism he describes as crippling the Church of England. Many people are watching - with dismay - as   On The Way plans are rolled out  . Our Cornish bishops  - the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen and the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson - want ‘oversight ministers’ - not priests in parishes.  Click here to read more.   The process of forming 'mega parishes' - in Kerrier, 23 churches under one rural dean - will cause irreversible damage to congregations, and local communities. Save The Parish has published a new paper on the dangers of 'mega parishes'.   Click here to read. 

As the Bishops of Truro and St Germans prepare for St Austell, the latest stop in their On The Way 'consultation' road show , Save The Parish has published a new paper on the potentially catastrophic effects of proposed 'mega parishes' and pastoral reorganisation. ‘Problems with Megaparishes” was written by two ordained academics, and exposes some fresh angles. Click here to read. Huge benefices are being proposed under the Bishops' On The Way plans in Cornwall: in Kerrier, for example, 23 parishes are being brought together under one rural dean. The Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen and the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson will be meeting churchgoers in St Austell from 4-6pm this afternoon - just as most of the nation will be warming up TVs to watch England's rugby match against Ireland in the Six Nations Championship at Murrayfield. The Bishops' tour of Cornish deaneries in this supposed consultation exercise has curiously been timed on Saturday afternoons during the Six Nati...

A powerful and articulate letter by Pam Dodd of Probus in today's West Briton (2 March 2023). The letter gets the prominence it deserves:  the Bishops' On The Way restructuring plans in Cornwall will decimate parishes and church communities across the Diocese of Truro.