Why are parishes being left to flounder by the Church of England? - Yorkshire Post Letters

Robert Beaumont's piece in The Yorkshire Post, February 8, describes clearly the dire situation the C of E is in right now.

The issues of Safeguarding and Finance are surely affecting a huge number of parishes, as they struggle to conform to regulations and "dashboards" which require Churchwardens and Parochial Council members to log into online training sessions, and to look out for undesirables who might join the congregation.

In the present C of E ecumenical climate it is hard to see how Archbishop Cottrell can do anything else but stand down.

In Kilham, a little parish in East Yorkshire, there are eight windows deemed to be in a dangerous condition.

The Churchwardens have spearheaded tirelessly over several years the campaign to raise £75,000 to replace these windows.

Getting the authority of the Diocese to do the work, a Faculty, took an age, and stipulations about the materials to be used only added to the cost.

Many fundraising events took place, and together with donations and grant money, sufficient funds were eventually raised. The work is currently in hand.

These funds are of course in addition to the annual "Parish Share" which Robert Beaumont describes and which every parish has to pay to the Diocese. Not one penny of the funding for our windows came from the Church of England.

Robert Beaumont is probably right. It may be too late to save the Church of England.