Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting and to the Arch Deacon for clarifying so many options, Jaime for donating the wine and Flora for the other refreshments.
YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION IF YOU WANT TO SAVE YOUR CHURCH!
In summary, the meeting was useful as people took the opportunity to voice any concerns, what they value about the church and what was the legal position regarding its future use.
Flora opened the meeting and stressed that although there is a shortage of money, without people who are willing to help with the day to day running of the church it will not survive. This includes membership of the PCC in addition to cleaning and churchyard maintenance. There is plenty to do!
We are grateful to the Archdeacon of Dorchester, the Venerable David Tyler, for his involvement.
• He explained that the Church of England is not “cash rich” but is nevertheless releasing more funds which should trickle down to the clergy and local parishes.
• St Edmund and St George Church was unlikely to be accepted as having sufficient historical interest to merit it being taken on by a church conservation trust. If it were to be closed for regular services, it is unlikely that it would be converted for residential use. In the worst case, and despite its listing, it could be demolished.
• Although there is some uncertainty over what would happen to the church if it were to be closed, the Parish Council would be responsible for the churchyard.
There were many suggestions as to how money could be raised and the necessity to engage with more people, particularly those who do not come to these meetings or other parish events. These included considering more varied use of the building, improving the facilities (especially water and a toilet), more musical events (the acoustics in the church are better than those in the village hall). The possibility was floated of doing more across a number of local parishes. The idea of a “Community Hub” to involve more people and raise funds is to be discussed further, realising that without the involvement and commitment of more people the church won’t survive – regardless of the amount of money in church funds.
We heard that many people visit the church for the peace and quiet that they find there. It was acknowledged that we all have spiritual needs, whatever our beliefs, and the engagement of more villagers is required.
Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting and those who were not able to attend but gave useful input. Finally, thank you to those who volunteered to join a rota for cleaning the church and providing flowers.
Community Meeting at the Village Hall on Tuesday 24th June at 7.30pm.
There has been a church in the centre of our village for Over 900 years, providing a meeting place and focal point for the community. Within it, the passage of years has been marked through the festivals of Christmas, Easter, Harvest, Remembrance. Countless life events have been celebrated through weddings and christenings and lives commemorated through funerals. It has provided a space in which to come together in times of national significance: years of wartime and conflict, moments of victory and relief, instances of national disaster, the death of a leader or monarch, the coronation of their successor.
The ministry of the vicar is available to each of us, to support us in our everyday lives and especially in our times of need. The church itself is open every day and is a wonderful space for quiet contemplation, a superb acoustic for music and the spoken word, and it currently houses Hethe’s lending library of books, CDs and DVDs.
We can all be part of this.
Modern life leads us to stay home and look for our own communities on-line and on TV and, especially since the pandemic, it has become a challenge to find places where we can be physically together. Our church is one of those places and it is always open. A small and ageing congregation uses it for regular worship but can no longer maintain it. A small number of parish households contribute to its funding but this has never covered its running costs.
How do you see the future of the church in the village?
It needs people as well as money to stay open.
If it were to close, how do you see it in future years? The building itself is Grade 2 listed and is protected from demolition – but it would need to be kept safe. It could be sold for development. The churchyard will need to be maintained as it is visited by family and friends of those buried there, and it will remain open for future burials including for those who have reserved a grave space.
This is your opportunity to take action.
Come to the open meeting for the whole parish on Tuesday 24th June at 7.30pm in the village hall in order to discuss these issues and to express your own thoughts on the future of your church.
If you cannot attend the meeting, you can still have your say by contacting :
Rev Alice Goodall rector@shelswellparishes.info
Flora Skinner fjskinner@hotmail.co.uk
Mike Green hethepccsecretary@outlook.com
In addition to the PCC, the Archdeacon of Dorchester, the Venerable David Tyler, and the Parish Development Advisor for Dorchester, Anne Perry, will be attending.
Our church is cared for and managed by volunteers (with input from our Rector). We receive no government funding and rely on voluntary donations to meet our day-to-day running costs. It is the responsibility of each parish to fund the running of their Church.
If, like most of us villagers, you care for the village, it’s appearance and heritage, it is essential that you attend this meeting to join in the discussion. In addition to members of the church, we will have representatives present from the Oxford Diocese who will be able to advise on finance and church closures.
The meeting will take place in the village hall in the evening of Tuesday 24 June, starting at 7.30pm.
