Church hits back in row over its parish priorities

CHURCH leaders in Cornwall have hit back at accusations they are wasting money on the wrong projects while neglecting the Duchy’s rural parishes.

A newly formed Cornish branch of the pressure group Save The Parish has called on the Diocese of Truro to go back to its roots and support local parishes. The Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen has responded denying the allegations.

The campaign group said the diocese was proposing swingeing cuts to parish churches with its ‘On the Way Scheme’ while wasting “millions” through a project called ‘Transforming Mission’, designed to bring back lapsed and non-churchgoers.

But in a statement the diocese said: “On the Way has been welcomed as an opportunity for local parishes to work out together what they want to do and how they want to do it.

“That will involve discussion of different points of view, but the plans that emerge are democratically agreed at Deanery Synods whose members are people from local churches – there’s no imposition of any plan by the bishops and it is wrong to suggest this. On the Way is led by parishes and the proposals put forward only come before the bishops once the parishes have agreed the proposals and plans.”

The diocese insisted that those who were complaining were in a minority and that the Church was “thriving in lots of ways throughout Cornwall.”

Its statement went on: “Transforming Mission is an investment in five local churches in Cornwall. This sort of investment has produced good results in other parts of the country. Covid has had a major impact upon its work and we are currently reviewing how the projects should be organised. There are no reports to support the allegations that these schemes are failing.”

Save the Parish complained a million pounds had been invested in trying to bring back congregations in Camborne. “It’s already clear that this plan is failing. Wildly optimistic forecasts of increased income from new believers have not materialised,” the pressure group alleged.

But Bishop Philip said: “I know about Camborne and Falmouth in terms of Transforming Mission because I have been there personally to meet the people involved and see the work they are doing. Camborne is reaching and connecting with some of the most marginalised people in their community and hearing about the work in Falmouth has been genuinely very moving. All this has been in done with the backdrop of Covid.”

The Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, Bishop of St Germans, added: “At a time of complexity and change in both society and the church, many people will have different perspectives on the future. Save the Parish offer one such view. While I welcome all perspectives and contributions to the discussion about how God is calling us, I do not recognise the description of the situation offered by Save the Parish.

“The church has clear and open structures and processes for making decisions, and they continue to be the way in which these issues are discussed and where decisions are made. We look forward to continuing to discern the future that God is calling us into through these forums.”