Madam,

It is my wish to defend some of the churches closed or about to be in mid and west Wales, as there has been much heartbreak for loyal parishioners.

Running a diocese is not easy, particularly when there is a shortage of clergy, but it seems a shame that bishops are following a policy that closures are the answer to challenges facing the church.

Many churches of all denominations were built through the sacrifices and hard work of former parishioners. Whilst one cannot keep a church open because of this, it would be an insult to the memory of our forefathers if churches they built were closed without any fight to save them. Already some parishioners are unable to attend a place of worship as they cannot reach places still open.

Within the British Isles there are a small number of ‘volunteer’ priests, those willing to minister in their spare time to parishioners who have lost their church.

In places where churches are closed or are about to be, many parishioners want to run them as houses of prayer where they can gather together when no priest is available.

Obviously if parishioners kept their churches they would have to fund the costs. For example the vibrant Catholic community at Llanidloes do not want their church to close but if it does they want to run it as a pilgrimage centre.

Closing churches will in the fullness of time be regretted as we have got to hope that one day people will come back to worship.

I urge the Diocese that, as long as long as the parishioners can pay for the upkeep of them, let them remain as houses of prayer.

It will be far cheaper to keep them than to demolish now and have to rebuild years later. As there is a genuine shortage of priests why not consider mid-week services, so the parishioners do have a chance to worship rather than have none at all?

Yours etc,

Christopher Magner, Dunval Road, Bridgnorth.

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