Our churches are all healthy, says vicar

Saddleworth Team Vicar John Rosedale

A LEADING community cleric said there are no proposals to close CE churches in rural villages.

Rev John Rosedale, Saddleworth's? Team Vicar, was commenting after four Catholic churches announced closure in Oldham as part of a diocese-wide shake up.

He said Saddleworth's Anglican churches have their own identity and, due to their location, their own 'mission field'.

But he revealed the churches?only have two full-time members of clergy but support a network of volunteer clergy. Currently, they staff each church for Holy Communion (The Eucharist) on three out of four Sundays.

"The church congregations reflect the style of worship and the locality of the church," Rev Rosedale explained.

"Our congregations can be called 'eclectic' with many?Saddleworth villagers travelling to another village to worship, where the worship may be more in keeping with their own personality and character.

"This means?each of our churches has a variety of age groups, skill levels and time outside of Sunday to support the work of proclaiming the gospel."

He added: "Although some congregations are small, each church has more than one congregation so?the sum of them indicates a healthy church."

He highlighted:

* St Anne's Lydgate have 12-18 regular worshippers at the Sunday 8am service. The?11am service regularly attracts 60.

* A new congregation meeting on Wednesday at 6pm has?around 30-40 youngsters with their parents, with the majority not attending on a Sunday.

* At St Mary Greenfield a regular congregation of about?100, including children, attend at 9.15am with the 10.30am service attended?by 30 to 40 adults.

* The St Thomas Delph, Sunday 10.30am service has "50-60 adults with children in attendance, but every other month the Sunday afternoon 'Messy Church'" attracts upwards of 100 primary school children and their adults.

Three Oldham RC churches have been earmarked for closure --?St Mary's, Holy Rosary, Fitton Hill and Sacred Heart, Derker.

Either St Anne's in Greenacres or St Michael's, Abbeyhills will also close following consultation.