Save The Parish - Cornwall

 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...

Next stop for our Cornish Bishops' On The Way Roadshow is St Austell on 18 March from 4pm to 6pm. On Saturday afternoons during the Six Nations rugby championships, the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, and the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson have been touring Cornwall's deaneries following the 'approval' of On The Way plans.  The curious timing of these meetings means that attendance has been confined to keen churchgoers -  excluding people with young families, sports fans and in fact anyone with a busy weekend diary. The carefully choreographed events are intended to constitute consultation. Those who have managed to make the meetings have found that less than less than a quarter of the time (only 25 minutes) is allocated for questions, the balance being used for ministry and sharing good news stories. Key questions unanswered concern the Diocese's hastily written booklet “Next Steps On The Way Frequently Asked Questions” : • The secti...

Thank you to our Save The Parish supporter who discovered this very moving blessing prayer for leaders. Blessing for a leader May you have the grace and wisdom to act kindly, learning to distinguish between what is personal and what is not. May you be hospitable to criticism. May you never put yourself at the centre of things. May you act not from arrogance but out of service. May you work on yourself, Building up and refining the ways of your mind. May those who work for you know you see and respect them. May you learn to cultivate the art of presence In order to engage with those who meet you. When someone fails or disappoints you, May the graciousness with which you engage Be their stairway to renewal and refinement May you treasure the gifts of the mind through reading and creative thinking So that you continue as a servant of the frontier Where the new will draw its enrichment from the old, And you never become a functionary. May you know the wisdom of deep listening, The healing ...

If you are worried about developments in Cornwall - plans for radical parish re-organisation and our Bishops' drive towards lay ministry 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. 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    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 18:00 on 25th April 2023 about the future of our parish churches, and the Church of E...

Concern in Cornwall at the actions of the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, again reaches a national stage. A letter in the Church Times (Friday 3 March 2023) from Truro Cathedral Friends and congregation members outlines the damage his recent - and, they say, unnecessary visitation has caused.  Click here  to read the Church Times letter by Juliet and Richard Lingham, and Truro Cathedral Friends and congregation members (it is the second letter on the Letter's Page). There has been considerable controversy in the Diocese of Truro around Mounstephen's actions at the Cathedral: click here to read more about that. "The Church Times letter questions where the natural justice is in the Bishop's actions," said Save The Parish Co-ordinator Susan Roberts. "And also points to lots of positive achievements that have gone unrecognised.  Feelings that could equally apply to the whole On The Way process." The Bishops' (of Truro and St Germans) O...

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.