Save The Parish - Cornwall

Many people are asking the question as we start 2025 with the acting Bishop Hugh Nelson still at the helm. Our new Bishop, the Rt Rev David Williams, will be installed later this year. Here's an article published in the Church Times, soon after his appointment. Click here to read.

An important statement from the Bishop's Diocesan Council (BDC) has just been issued. Approved by the acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, it attacks the failings of the Archbishop's Council and the Council of Bishops both in the current safeguarding crisis and over a number of years. The statement, published on the Diocese of Truro website, reads: At the Bishop’s Diocesan Council this week, the agenda included an opportunity for members to discuss the Makin report and the response nationally and locally.  Council members represent the diversity of the diocese geographically, in church tradition, in church size and in perspective.  Members of the Council are listed here . The discussion concluded with a unanimous decision by the Council to share its views with the churches, schools and communities of our diocese.  This is shared below: Over the last three weeks the safeguarding failures of the Church of England have been laid bare yet again.  We ar...

The Rt Rev David Williams, currently suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke, has been appointed the new Bishop of Truro. He will be installed in spring 2025.  Prior to his consecration as a Bishop in 2014, Bishop David was a parish priest for more than 25 years. Save The Parish Cornwall believes this could give hope to churches and communities across the county struggling with often unwanted and divisive restructuring plans known as On The Way. “I am, at heart, a parish priest,” said Bishop David in a statement on his appointment. “I want to continue working for the flourishing of local churches. The local church is vital to a local community. It’s a place where we encounter God. It’s a place where you’re encouraged and comforted when you’re in trouble. It’s also a place where we are challenged and learn how to live in God’s light.”

 A welcome and much-needed spotlight on the Diocese of Truro's 2025 budget fiasco this week - as local newspapers across Cornwall report on coverage of the 24 November 2024 synod debate. Click here to read the full transcript.   For more information about the budget, click here.        

Restoring the Value of Parishes by Civitas (Institute for the Study of Civil Society) diagnoses what has gone wrong with the Church of England in recent years, and makes the case for returning to what works. Click here to read.

  Click here to read the Diocesan response to a question from Synod member Jo Heydon asking for more information about the controversial Transforming Mission schemes in five Cornish towns, which have swallowed up hundreds of thousands of Church Commissioners' funds and Diocesan reserves.  For the first time - after years of avoiding the question and deliberate obfuscation - the Diocese publicly admits that these expensive schemes have failed to reach their target.  These schemes were championed by the former Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen. The minutes of our September (Diocesan Synod) meeting record Simon Taurin’s request for more information about Transforming Mission. No further information has, as yet, been made public. This is a serious matter. Many hundreds of thousands of pounds of Diocesan reserves and Church Commissioners’ funds have already been spent on this controversial project which has apparently failed to bring in large numbers of ne...

Thoughts from the Reverend Marcus Walker, founder and Chairman of Save The Parish This has been a very difficult and troubling week for the Church of England. The prayers of all of us at Save the Parish have been with those who suffered such terrible abuse under John Smyth and for all those who have worked with them in the process of delivering the Makin Review. Although this has not been a Save the Parish issue, some of our prominent members have passed comment on this, including Giles Fraser, whose  article can be found here . The resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury means that the church needs to work out what kind of person shall lead us over the next decade or so. On this matter Save the Parish must have a strong voice. The direction set by the new Archbishop will define so many matters which directly affect parishes - from how they are funded, to how the church can rebuild clergy numbers, to how volunteers are treated, to how easy (and expensive) it is to ...