Quite a lot of our time is taken up with the church. Not just attending services, fund raising, going to meetings and social occasions, but dealing with the crumbling fabric of the church building.
Here is the church that Richard and I belong to in the benefice of The Saints in NE Suffolk. This photo was taken in the middle of April this year and work had just begun to restore the porch roof which was in great danger of falling down. It takes such a long time to instigate any repairs to the ancient churches in our benefice, I am always worried in case the church collapses into ruins before we have firstly, raised enough funds for the task, then filled in all the endless forms and lastly, all the numerous visits from the authorities have taken place. Our church is old. It had its beginnings nearly one thousand years ago, though most of the church was built in the 13th century.
Quite a lot of rotting timber was removed from the roof.
This photo was taken towards the end of May this year. The metal bars sticking up in front of the gate are an attempt to stop thieves driving up to the church to steal parts of the building. We can unlock the bars when necessary.
You can see how well these gates have been repaired, all the rotten wood removed and new parts inserted. We could not afford to have new gates made.
We have had some problems with damage and vandalism in the church this year. We keep our church open and unlocked so that it is accessible and available to all who may need to visit and use it for prayer or for peaceful meditation. Fire extinguishers have been set off in the church, mud smeared over the furniture and other minor damage has been done. On occasion we have had to lock the church overnight and sometimes during the day. This is the first time in living memory that Rumburgh has had to deal with this problem.
In August of 2017 I published this post in which I spoke about the retirement of our vicar, Richard. From that moment on we had to run ourselves, all eleven parish churches in our benefice. We have had to organise our services and make sure there were priests available for communion services, for funerals, for baptisms and for weddings. We couldn’t have done this without the organisational skills of Maurice, our Elder (who has just retired) and without the kindness of a team of retired priests and the hard work of our one Reader, Lynda. Many of us were roped in to take Morning and Evening Prayer services, Harvest Festivals and Carol Services, Richard and me included. We still had our PCC meetings to attend, repairs to our ancient churches to arrange, fund raising for said repairs as well as trying to find our Parish Share each year. At the same time we had many discussions about the future and whether we would be able to get a new priest at all. All eleven churches provided a wish list; what we wanted in our new priest.
This collection of eleven different pictures of an ideal vicar was read by the Rural Dean, his Assistant Rural Dean and by the Archdeacon who sent them back to us with lots of red pen all over them and a few ‘see me’s. Eventually we produced a booklet describing our benefice and all the churches within it. We stated what we thought our new priest ought to be like and asked potential vicars to come and live with us. We were told at first that we probably wouldn’t get a full-time vicar but the Archdeacon then said he thought that as we don’t have a ‘mother church’ (we are all small churches in small villages; no town church with a larger congregation) and the benefice though sparsely populated is large in area, we needed a full-time priest, or at least two part-time priests. The Archdeacon got his way and we advertised for two part-time ‘house-for-duty’ priests. The priest would be provided with a house in exchange for working in the benefice. The Archdeacon, the Rural Dean and his assistant also all took turns in taking services in our benefice during the interregnum. The Archdeacon played the organ at the services he took, so we didn’t need to find an organist or arrange a karaoke machine for the hymns. Sadly, the Archdeacon who wasn’t in the best of health and was just about to retire early, became very ill and then died a few weeks ago. He lived long enough to see that we managed to get one of our two house-for-duty priests who was licensed on the 5th of September this year.
Leon was born and grew up in this benefice and is the son of a farmer and his wife who live in Ilketshall St Margaret. Leon’s mum is the Church Warden at Ilketshall St Margaret church. Leon has been a priest for some years, maybe nearly twenty years, as I remember him at home before he went off to college about a year after Elinor was born. He is married with two young children. He originally wanted to give up the priesthood completely and return home to help run his parents’ farm, full time. But he changed his mind and took the part-time job as our priest and works with his parents on the farm for the rest of the week. He now finds himself doing two jobs which ideally need to be done by two people working full-time. We are still wanting another part-time priest so a lot of the duties we carried out during the interregnum we are still doing now. I took Morning Prayer two weeks ago and Richard and I took the Harvest Festival service together.
Unfortunately I became too busy to take any more photos at the service, which went very well. Afterwards we all went to the village hall for food and drink. We had all provided one savoury and one sweet item of food and had delivered them to the village hall before the service.
It is good to have a priest in the benefice again. The PCC meetings and the benefice meetings continue and we are now planning our Christmas services.
Richard and John (another member of our PCC) have been working very hard for months to get major repairs done at our church. At the beginning of this year I showed you, in a post, some photographs of large cracks that had appeared in the east wall of the church. These cracks have become larger and pieces of masonry are falling down inside the building. Builders have been approached but very few are willing to do the work or, if willing at first, then had to back out because of the length of time it took for the authorities to give us the go-ahead. A visit was made to the church by a group of people who were very concerned at the state of the church and wished to help but insisted that the gutters should be repaired first before the cracks in the wall are tackled. The gutters definitely need replacing/repairing as the walls are so damp inside the church they are green. The visitors said they would give us a grant to get the work done. A local retired builder who has worked in many of our churches was approached to do the work. He agreed, but last week the poor man became ill and can no longer help us. We have to start looking for another builder and the time is running out. To claim the grant the work has to be done by February.
We must support Richard and John in their work, say our prayers and trust that something will turn up!
As an antidote to all this frustration, here is a festive song.
susanpoozan said:
What a struggle you describe and what an uphill battle you face, congratulations to all concerned, my prayers are with you.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Susan. We certainly couldn’t have coped so well without the large team of retired people who gave of their time and expertise willingly and unstintingly.
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Jane Sturgeon said:
What a time you have all had and it is remarkable how much you have achieved. The porch and gates look great. Tenacious is the word that springs to mind. I am saddened by the vandalism and the measures you have to take to ensure it doesn’t happen. On a bright note, I am glad you have found Leon and your quiche looks yummy. You are all in my prayers. ❤ ❤ ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, dear Jane. We were very disappointed when we realised we had to lock the church but fortunately, we found we only needed to lock the door for a short while. The people we believe were responsible were easily put off and found other things to do in their spare time. We just need to be more vigilant. Hugs and love ❤ ❤ ❤
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Jane Sturgeon said:
❤ ❤ ❤ always with xXx
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Clare Pooley said:
❤ ❤ ❤
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Ste J said:
I can never understand why people could be driven to vandalise buildings with such heritage. My parents’ church hasn’t had a vicar for a couple of years now, I think the trials and tribulations of local congregations would make a thought-provoking book.
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Clare Pooley said:
I think you could be right about the book! Our vandals (we believe) are quite young with nothing to do in a village with no shop, club, public transport or any facilities for bored young people. The church is not ornate and is in dire need of repair and restoration. People could be mistaken into thinking it wasn’t loved or cared for.
Thank you very much for your comment, Ste J. I hope your parents get a vicar for their church soon. The whole interregnum business can be extremely demoralising.
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Ste J said:
It can be difficult when young people only wish to amuse themselves with damaging property. Sadly, it’s only when older when amusing oneself becomes easier.
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes!
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Jill Weatherholt said:
It makes me ill to hear about churches being vandalized. You and your congregation are doing a great thing here, Clare.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Jill. We were all very shocked, angry and upset the first time we found damage in the church. We believe the perpetrators are quite young and have nothing to do in their spare time in a village with no facilities – no shop or public transport, nowhere for young people to go and have fun. They created their own entertainment! 🙂
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Jill Weatherholt said:
I’m so sorry, Clare. ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
❤
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paulharley said:
A really interesting account of the struggles involved in keeping an an ancient church open and the difficulties in maintaining it and trying to keep it open to the public, despite the issue of mindless vandalism and also the joy of achievement after the struggle (which, of course, with an ancient building will keep going on). It led me to read Simon Knott’s account of your church – an enjoyable piece too.
http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/rumburgh.htm
Congratulations.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Paul. We know only too well the struggle is an on-going one but it seems to be getting harder as our congregation gets older and there are fewer craftsmen interested or skilled in church restoration. The prices are rising all the time and the task isn’t made any easier by the diocesan architects etc and their flights of fancy! I enjoy reading Simon Knott’s accounts of the churches he visits and I was glad to see he returned to ours for another look. He finds it a little oppressive; it is a little stark, I must admit. It has no decoration except a carved screen and it is so tall! Not a pretty church at all but it comes into it’s own when decorated at harvest-time or Christmas and all the candles are lit.
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Meg Owen said:
Thank you Clare for sending me on a wonderful 3 hour musical journey that lead me to Songs of Praise carols and eventually Amira, who I never knew existed!! Amazing voice.
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Clare Pooley said:
I don’t know Amira either. I’ll have to have a listen to her. It is so easy to go on these musical trails on Youtube! I’m easily distracted and often forget what I was looking for in the first place!
Thank you so much for your comment, Meg!
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Laurie Graves said:
A struggle, yes, but also a labor of love. Surely, surely, in the end that love will triumph. Keep us posted.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Laurie; yes, it is also love and we hope that love will triumph. But love needs to be wealthy, so mammon and filthy lucre come into it too! 😀
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Laurie Graves said:
That’s always the case, isn’t it? Sigh.
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Richard Thornburgh said:
The repaired porch looks wonderful, and how nice to have it dry and watertight. Good to know the place hasn’t collapsed entirely since I retired, but I can see there are areas that need to be addressed. When the vicar goes the church grows, and you continue to play a vital part in the life and continuity of that fine building. I’m sure that with Leon in post The Saints will prosper.
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Clare Pooley said:
How nice to hear from you, Richard and thank you for your kind response. Yes, there are plenty of areas that need dealing with in the church and we hope we can get to them in time.
With very best wishes, Clare
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Peter Klopp said:
Thank you, Clare, for this interesting report on the repair work at your church!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your comment, Peter. It is a never-ending task, I’m afraid!
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Karen's Nature Art said:
I’m so sorry to hear about all the struggles you’ve faced in trying to keep your church going. What a history it has to be that old. Thank you for not giving up!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Karen. It is a very old church but not a pretty one and we are a little off the beaten track and get few visitors. There are few of us but we haven’t given up yet!
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Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life. said:
Sad to see these lovely smaller churches in need of repair when so much is spent on keep our cathedrals up to date. It is clear that your community is committed to keeping a place of worship at the heart… Lovely post Claire.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much for your kind comment. The cathedrals do get the lion’s share of the funds but without them we would probably collapse entirely!
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Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life. said:
This is true..
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derrickjknight said:
You are all working so hard to maintain a wonderful treasure. I do hope you find another builder. I really enjoyed the recording.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Derrick. I love that recording, too; I especially like hearing so many men singing together – a rarity these days.
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derrickjknight said:
🙂
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Lavinia Ross said:
Glad to see this beautiful old church under repair! 🙂 So sad to hear of all the vandalism and theft, though. 😦
Have a wonderful Christmas season, Clare! Blessings to you and your family.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lavinia. Vandalism and theft are a fact of life these days, no matter where one lives but we only have sporadic trouble and still manage to keep the church open most of the time.
A very merry Christmas to you and Rick, too!
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margaret21 said:
It’s tough, isn’t it? Your part of the country is blessed with many beautiful churches, some far too big for present needs (though that seems not to be the case with yours). Working out a sustainable way forward for all of them must be a real challenge. Good luck as you struggle forward, against the odds.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Margaret. Keeping these churches open with dwindling congregations is a struggle and some difficult choices will have to made soon, I am sure.
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dobetteralways said:
I don’t think many people in larger cities understand the amount of effort it takes to maintain religion. Your contributions are a testament of your devotion to your faith, your church, and your community.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much! When I was very young this country was still a church-going nation and there were enough priests to go around. In my lifetime membership of the church has dwindled rapidly and many churches have had to close and what priests there are, have to spread themselves very thin looking after multiple parishes. This is difficult enough in towns and cities but, as you have mentioned, trying to keep a church going in a rural area with few resources and a scant congregation can be soul-destroying. The way the church is run is decided by people who live and work in the cities and many have no idea what it is like to live and work in a rural location. The same could be said about our government; most policies, laws and regulations are decided by urban-living politicians who rarely visit country areas.
Most cities and some large towns have synagogues, mosques, temples, meeting houses and other places of worship for non-Christians but trying to maintain a religious, worshipping life, as a Jew for example, and also live in a small village is well-nigh impossible unless one is prepared to travel long distances. It will soon become just as difficult for Christians to live in the country and worship in a church as it is for members of minority religions in Britain.
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Liz said:
I remember your original post about the retirement of your vicar – can it really be more than two years ago? How marvellous that your community has been able to keep everything going since then, albeit under very difficult circumstances. Fingers very much crossed for you that some progress can be made with the ongoing issues.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Liz. It has been a struggle at times to keep all the services going through the interregnum but we have had such kindness from all sorts of people! The battle to keep the buildings standing is never-ending, however.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
It would be a real shame to lose such an old church. I hope you can find someone who knows what they’re doing. The repairs to the porch certainly look like they were done well.
I’ll never understand why someone would vandalize a church. When I was a boy you could always count on churches being unlocked, night or day, but I doubt you’d find one like that today. My grandmother would be outraged.
I hope you’ll find plenty of help, both in the form of willing hands and donations, and I hope you’ll be able to take a break. It sounds exhausting.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Allen. The perpetrators of the damage to the church are young and bored and have nowhere else to go during the holidays and at weekends. There is nothing for them in the village and no transport to take them to the nearest town where there might be something to do. We have been able to reopen the church but we stay vigilant.
Society is so different these days and respect for other peoples’ belongings and views is very rare, unfortunately.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I hope your village can work it out.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you.
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tootlepedal said:
What a battle you have on your hands. We have something of the same problem here with a worship team running the services while we struggled to get a new minister, I hope you find a builder in time to get your grant money.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Tom. I have been thinking of your lack of a minister and the struggles you all must be facing with empathy.
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tootlepedal said:
Our man starts next week so we will soon know if the congregation has made a wise choice.
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Clare Pooley said:
Best of luck!
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Elizabeth Melton Parsons said:
I don’t think anything makes me more angry than when vandals hit a historical building. It’s so expensive and difficult to keep them up. I love your church, Clare. You may be climbing uphill, but you’re doing an excellent job. ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Elizabeth! We keep on going and try not to think too much about what will happen when we can no longer do it!
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Richard Sutton said:
I hope Leon settles in well with you and that you find someone else to help him. Yes, you have worked so hard to keep your church going. I wish you well.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Richard. Leon should be fine. We are so grateful to have him and he knows the area and many of the people already.
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Annika Perry said:
Clare, what a busy and fulfilling time you have with the church. The repairs look great. I am sorry for the loss of your Archdeacon. It cannot be easy managing the 11 churches yourselves and luckily you have great support. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours with repairs, etc. Through all the problems the sense of warmth, kindness and community shines through. Your cooking & baking looks delicious btw! Wishing you a wonderful festive season! xx
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Annika! I actually managed to get the very last sliver of the quiche and it had turned out quite well, I am glad to say. I usually like to test what I bake for sales in case I’ve forgotten to add an ingredient or it doesn’t taste nice but I couldn’t do that with the quiche.
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Retirement Reflections said:
Hi, Clare – It is wonderful to read all of the work that your team have been doing for your church. I’m sending warm thoughts that you meet (and surpass) all that needs to be done by the grant deadline. Please keep us posted.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Donna. Those warm thoughts are much appreciated and I will definitely let you know how we get on.
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Lisa Giaquinto said:
I’m so glad you found a priest, Clare! I’ve been wondering how things are going in that quarter. Picturesque from a distance, but falling apart close up. Your response to dobetteralways is also true for us Catholics where I am. Certain parishes have been “yoked” with others by the bishop and they are sharing priests.It seems to be working out well; our parish is manned by a religious order out of Poland, and we have two priests, but – my brother has a complaint that because their “allegiance” is to their order, he feels they don’t sufficient drive to keep us going. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Many of the decisions are made by people who are remotely situated. It’s not ideal anywhere.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lisa. We are living in such a secular age that all churches are having difficulty finding priests and congregations are dwindling. We have to be grateful for whatever help we get. I can understand your brother’s complaint. A priest who lives with his flock and whose life is bound up with the people he serves will of course be thinking of ways to improve the parish and will be interested in the welfare of all his people. Your priests are doing their duty well, I am sure but yes, their allegiance is to their order. Our interregnum has been good for us in that we aren’t just waiting passively for a priest to take the services but have had to run our own services very often or go without. There are very few of us willing to take services (obviously, not masses) – it doesn’t appeal to many people – and there are some people who don’t like services run by members of the congregation, but we do feel as though we have helped to keep things going these two years and it has given us a deeper understanding of what it must be like to be a priest. I have no wish to be a priest but I know I want to become an Elder and then a Reader. I wish to be licensed to preach. I get such a lot of satisfaction from taking services though I do get very nervous in case I mess things up!
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Lisa G. said:
Quiche is always a smart thing to bring to these occasions, and yours looks really good, Clare. 🙂 I’ve been wondering how things are at your church – wonderful that you found a priest, and may it be soon that you can find another. The porch looks great! Every old building that seems picturesque to outsiders, is probably a real problem to insiders. I hope things will progress smoothly now.
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Andrea Stephenson said:
It seems a sad comment on our world that so many thefts are taking place from churches – there was one on the news just the other day that had all the leading stolen from its roof. It also seems sad that you have to do so much work and put in so much effort to keep your church going. I hope that you get to rest a little during the coming holidays, but I suspect there will be only more to keep you busy!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Andrea. Church roof lead is the target for many of the thieves. A church near us had its lead stolen and the church architects insisted that more lead was used to repair the roof. This is very costly indeed and of course, that lead was stolen shortly afterwards. It is sad we have to do so much to keep our church going but it is inevitable in this secular society. We are all getting older and young people aren’t attracted to the church and they are the ones who would give us new life and hope. Hard decisions will have to be made very soon and many more of our churches will have to be closed. I am pleased to say that apart from having to provide food for our carol service on the 20th we are free from having to take another service until the second week in January! Our new priest will be taking the main services over the Christmas period.
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Andrea Stephenson said:
I’m glad to hear that Clare, I hope that means you’ll be able to just enjoy the holiday!
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Clare Pooley said:
I’m sure I will! Thank you, Andrea xx
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wholelottarosie said:
It’s a pleasure to see the good result and it is wonderful to read about all of the work that you and your team have been doing for your nice little church.
These old buildings are our past history.
Enjoy this Advent-tide and have a wonderful Christmas!
Rosie
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Rosie. Your excellent English puts me to shame. I must try to practice my German language. A very joyous Advent and a Happy Christmas to you, too!
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Rachel Ball said:
Really interesting to read this – rural churches are so important to communities but seem to struggle. Our church is non conformist and meets in a hired hall. Our hall is OK but obviously doesn’t have the history of your church building or the atmosphere.
I’m pleased that your new priest is a local. Big challenge for him to take on so much work – I hope it works out well and that you find a new builder.
If I don’t get another chance to comment before Christmas – I hope you have a very blessed Christmas Clare x
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Rachel! Your hall may not have the history or the atmosphere but it is probably warmer and drier than our church! Richard is meeting another builder who may want the job at the church on Thursday. It would be wonderful if he accepts the job and can start straight away!
A very blessed Christmas to you and your family, too my dear friend xx
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Helen said:
Oh dear, Clare. It is such a shame that old churches are in need of so much repair. I hope you will be able to get the funding you need and a second vicar to share the administrative load.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Helen. All of the churches in our benefice are either Grade 1 or Grade 2 Listed Buildings and therefore the time it takes to get the necessary paperwork done for each repair is phenomenal! And this is after we have managed to save up enough money to get the work done.
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Helen said:
I see – a complex issue!
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes, indeed!
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Cynthia Reyes said:
Welcome to Leon, Claire and I wish him stamina. I’m sorry you and Richard and others have so much to do to keep the church going. At times, your post reminded me of what it was like for people starting up Christian churches in earlier years — except they were building, while you are trying to stop the crumbling. Either way, it takes a huge commitment. I should know this, as our churches are both part of the worldwide Anglican communion, but let me ask: Has the CoE not considered a way to train and ordain lay leaders who are retired from their jobs and may have an interest in priesthood? Or is the part-time ‘house-for-duty’ priests solution deemed the best and least costly?
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much for your comment, Cynthia.
The C of E does train and ordain lay leaders – elders and lay readers – and a number of us are going in for this training. We have been taking many of the Morning and Evening Prayer services for the past couple of years along with our one Elder (now retired) and our one lay-reader. However, we cannot take communion services or do any other work that requires an ordained priest. Eleven parishes, even though sparsely populated, are too many for one part-time priest to cope with. There are so few people coming forward for ordination in this country that many priests feel they can’t retire when they would like to or need to. They are also called on almost all the time, once they have retired, to stand in for priests who are sick. The part-time house-for-duty priest solution was certainly deemed the best answer for our current problem but this only puts off the inevitable. We will ultimately have to amalgamate with another benefice with a team of clergy to tend to our needs. Some of our churches will have to close and will probably be left unused, as the charitable trusts who have been taking on redundant churches are at capacity and have few funds and resources for taking on more ancient churches. A sad picture. but if we are to survive we have to do what is necessary.
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roughwighting said:
I enjoy visiting you here with your words and photos to your special place. The work is hard but so well worth it. The photos are wonderful and take me to your in – some ways – magical place (I know, tough magic, sort of like tough love?) Thanks so much for bringing us all to your “home.” xo
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Pam for your visit here and your kind comment. It is tough work and seems thankless at times but we do it willingly. xo
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Resa said:
Oh my!
Age seems to be a big problem here.
It sounds like you are all taking the best small steps you can. It’s not a huge building, but any type/kind of restoration is very, very expensive.
It might be an idea to build a new church beside the old church.
It would be less expensive. You could still fix up the old church, little by little. It could be a tourist destination, and bring in a few dollars.
Just a thought!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Clare!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you. Resa. That would be an answer if we had any money at all, which we don’t and if there was land to build on, which there isn’t! We will have to just keep going with the small steps 🙂
Have a very happy Christmas, Resa!
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kevin cooper said:
This was posted on my birthday. Lol. Anyway, hope the church gets all those needed repairs completed. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Belated happy birthday, Kevin 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment; we hope we get the repairs too. We have found a new builder and he has been approved by English Heritage so with any luck we will get the repairs done after Christmas! Happy Christmas to you and yours, Kevin!
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kevin cooper said:
Likewise, Clare. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Luanne said:
Oh that food looks so good. There is nothing so wonderful as a quintessential old English church–something we have very few of here–and certainly not in Phoenix. But I imagine the care it takes is costly and stressful. You’ve reminded me something else. When I was a kid I had a copy of The Vicar of Wakefield. I wasn’t familiar with the word “vicar” so I was scared to read the book! I now can’t remember if I read it or not! Have a sweet Christmas, Clare.
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Clare Pooley said:
Oh, I love ‘The Vicar of Wakefield’! Isn’t it strange what kids get worried about? When we get older we ask other people their views on topics or we read reviews etc. I remember feeling totally confused about so many things but never even thought I could ask someone for explanations!
Our church is very costly to run and because it is so old and has been assessed as a Grade 1 Listed Building we can’t just leave the building to fall down and we can’t do the repairs ourselves. We have to get specialist advice and use all sorts of very expensive craftspeople who use specialist materials to carry out the repairs. And the paperwork!!
I hope you feel better very soon my friend, and your celebrations are fun and relaxing.
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Luanne said:
I am not a fan of red tape and the potential of bureaucratic incompetence, but I understand that they have to be careful with an old building like that or who knows what people would end up doing to them.
You really got it when you said that you “remember feeling totally confused” but didn’t think of asking for explanations. I thought that was only me. For someone who always has a question as an adult, why didn’t I ask more as a child? I don’t understand why I didn’t think of things like that. I never asked my mom how to pronounce “vicar” and instead just felt a bit phobic about the book. I still wonder though if I ended up reading it when I was older. I almost feel as if I did.
And, yes, I am still sick :/. Stay well, Clare!
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Clare Pooley said:
❤
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(Kitty) Cat Strawberry - Meow! said:
Oh dear, you’ve all had such a time of it! I can’t believe people are vandalising your beautiful church 😦 Something so historic should be treated with respect, it’s such a sad thing to see people do that, especially as your church leaves its doors open, something which none of the churches do wherever I’ve lived and it’s something that I’ve wished they were able to do as sometimes you just need that quiet time and a visit to a church.
I hope you manage to get something sorted out. Have you thought about sending out a message about needing to repair the church out on social media, a call to anyone who can seriously help? Sometimes it takes a bit of advertising to find people or organisations who are able to and willing to help.
Thank you for sharing this post and for your lovely pictures, I love that quiche and cake they look so delicious!. I really hope that something works out for you, you’ve all put in such an amazing amount of time and it shows what a wonderful community you all are, something which so many parts of the country have sadly lost. I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and New Year and will pray that in the New Year you will manage to secure someone to fix the church and that it will be restored fully 🙂 ❤
ps I hope that retired local builder is okay ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your wonderful reply, Cat! We have just found ourselves another builder and he has been approved by English Heritage. We hope he will be able to start work soon. I also hope the retired builder is okay. I will have to ask tomorrow if anyone knows.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy and successful New Year,
Love Clare xx
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(Kitty) Cat Strawberry - Meow! said:
Thank you, you too and that is wonderful news! I hope all goes well for the rebuild and I also hope you have no more problems in the future. Have a wonderful week ❤ 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Cat! And you too ❤ ❤ 🙂
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quercuscommunity said:
Good luck with it all. It’s bad enough that the time and vandals are working against you but you must get the feeling that the Church authorities aren’t helping either, with all the regulations and restrictions.
Many churches have been damaged by wars, reformation or Victorian architects so I don’t see why we need to be so prissy about alterations – they are working buildings after all.
Why not propose this next time?
https://www.dezeen.com/2019/05/09/notre-dame-roof-vincent-callebaut-energy-food-farm/
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Clare Pooley said:
I like this proposition!
As church users we are battling continuously with the authorities about the repairs we need and we use similar arguments to yours. Our church is not beautiful and was constructed from the shabbiest materials by a very poor group of monks. The building has nothing going for it except extreme age.
We need to keep it water-tight, weather-proof and standing up.
Merry Christmas, Simon and a happy and healthy New Year to you and yours. 🙂
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quercuscommunity said:
Thank you. I hope you all have a good Christmas and New Year too.
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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bitaboutbritain said:
Just dropped in to wish you and Richard a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Mike and the same to you and yours. Please excuse my late reply to your kind message; I have been otherwise engaged.
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Laleh Chini said:
Loved reading it Clare, thanks.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Laleh 🙂
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Laleh Chini said:
My pleasure sweetheart.🌹
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Clare Pooley said:
❤
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