ST MARY’s, Astbury, in Cheshire, has taken the “difficult decision” to suspend services and shut for 3 months to scale back heating bills over the coldest winter months.
One of the biggest within the diocese, the medieval church is a landmark next in size to Chester Cathedral and has been described as certainly one of the county’s architectural glories.
The £11,500 monthly running cost isn’t matched by its £8500 monthly income, and so the church has launched a £1-million appeal for essential repairs to the stonework and internal fabric. An announcement says: “The church belongs to the entire community, whether you attend commonly, pop in occasionally or just enjoy seeing it there day-after-day.
“We’re due to this fact appealing to everyone within the village and beyond to assist us meet this challenge. With the community’s support, we imagine this much loved landmark can proceed to serve and encourage for hundreds of years to return. Together, let’s make sure that the church stays standing strong at the guts of our village.”
“It’s a giant barn of a constructing but an incredible one,” the Rector, the Revd Heather Carter, said on Tuesday. She has been in post for eight months. “It was limping along after I got here, but now we’d like to act decisively,” she said.
“It can’t be sustained just by the faithful few. Not holding services for 3 months gives us likelihood to take stock and reflect on where we stand. Where are we going? What’s our vision? How can we grow to be more sustainable?”
The congregation has been invited to worship on the daughter church of St John’s, Smallwood. The motion has been put within the journeying context of the Epiphany readings, and the star from the church’s live nativity performance led people to St John’s on Sunday.
Services at St Mary’s will resume on Palm Sunday. On concerns that worshippers may not return, Ms Carter reflects: “Churches closed during Covid. People either got here back or they didn’t. New people got here. We’re just like the Wise Men, following a star and never a map.”
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