Major changes could be coming to 18 Cornish churches
The Church Commissioners of the Church of England have initiated the process, which could see significant changes to the current structure.
The Kerrier Deanery encompasses 23 churches across six groups, stretching from Constantine to Germoe and from Wendron to The Lizard.
St Michael's Church in Helston, the largest in the area, is also part of this deanery.
Traditionally, each of these benefices has had a resident vicar or rector.
However, the proposed changes aim to consolidate all the parishes and benefices into one single Kerrier benefice.
Under this new plan, none of the 18 parishes will have a designated vicar.
Instead, the Truro Diocese will appoint two stipendiary priests, a team rector and a team vicar, to oversee the entire deanery.
These changes require approval from the Church Commissioners, who are now inviting residents in the deanery to voice their opinions.
The consultation details are available at www.churchofengland.org/consultation/Kerrier, with representations being accepted via email at rex.andrew@churchofengland.org.
The deadline for submissions is midnight on September 15, 2025.
In a statement, St Michael's Parochial Church Council [[Helston]] urged locals to participate in the consultation, stating: "We urge anyone with an interest in the future of the Church of England in this area of Cornwall to contribute their views and opinions.
"You do not have to be a practising member of the Church to participate in this consultation."
The statement was signed by church wardens John Boase and Melanie Uren, deanery synod representative Michael Thorn, and lay vice chair of the PCC Michael Thomas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Yahoo
Major changes could be coming to 18 Cornish churches
A public consultation has been launched on the reorganisation of the Kerrier Deanery. The Church Commissioners of the Church of England have initiated the process, which could see significant changes to the current structure. The Kerrier Deanery encompasses 23 churches across six groups, stretching from Constantine to Germoe and from Wendron to The Lizard. St Michael's Church in Helston, the largest in the area, is also part of this deanery. Traditionally, each of these benefices has had a resident vicar or rector. However, the proposed changes aim to consolidate all the parishes and benefices into one single Kerrier benefice. Under this new plan, none of the 18 parishes will have a designated vicar. Instead, the Truro Diocese will appoint two stipendiary priests, a team rector and a team vicar, to oversee the entire deanery. These changes require approval from the Church Commissioners, who are now inviting residents in the deanery to voice their opinions. The consultation details are available at with representations being accepted via email at The deadline for submissions is midnight on September 15, 2025. In a statement, St Michael's Parochial Church Council [[Helston]] urged locals to participate in the consultation, stating: "We urge anyone with an interest in the future of the Church of England in this area of Cornwall to contribute their views and opinions. "You do not have to be a practising member of the Church to participate in this consultation." The statement was signed by church wardens John Boase and Melanie Uren, deanery synod representative Michael Thorn, and lay vice chair of the PCC Michael Thomas.
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Yahoo
'Landmark moment' for Penzance as neighbourhood plan is approved
Over 90 per cent of voters have approved the Penzance Neighbourhood Plan. The plan, one of Cornwall's most complex, took over a decade to develop and covers a parish with multiple communities. During the referendum on July 31, residents were asked if they wanted Cornwall Council to use the Penzance Parish neighbourhood plan for planning applications. A total of 2,928 electorate members responded with a 'yes', making up a whopping 91.6 per cent of the vote, while only 268 voted 'no'. The plan was developed by the Penzance, Newlyn, Mousehole, Heamoor, Gulval, Paul, and Eastern Green communities after comprehensive surveys and consultations to identify key priorities for the parish. Now approved, the Penzance Neighbourhood Plan will be a key element in Cornwall Council's decision-making process regarding planning applications within Penzance Parish. Mayor of Penzance, Stephen Reynolds, was among the multitude of volunteers who contributed to the plan's development. He said: "This is a landmark moment for our community. "For the first time, planning applications in the Penzance parish area will be decided not only using policies written in Westminster and Truro, but also policies developed by local people, for local people. "I'm delighted that thousands of residents showed the commitment to come out and vote. "After many years in the making, we finally have a set of planning policies that reflect the kind of place we want to live in, and to hand on to future generations." The over 200-page-long Penzance Neighbourhood Plan was mainly formulated by local volunteers, including representatives from all Penzance Parish communities. This Community Link Group conducted surveys, organised drop-ins, and used the feedback to form policies representing local residents' desires. The plan incorporates policies identifying more than 80 parish green spaces to be preserved from development, most designated as Local Green Spaces, the national planning policy's highest degree of protection. The plan also features a Principal Residence policy, restricting new-build homes in certain areas to be occupied as principal residences only. This applies to second-home hotspots like Mousehole, Paul, Tredavoe, parts of Newlyn centre, and areas around Penzance promenade and harbour. Additional policies safeguard biodiversity corridors and establish green buffers to maintain the distinct identities of the parish's villages.
San Francisco Chronicle
31-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pope to bestow one of Catholic Church's highest honors on Anglican convert John Henry Newman
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Thursday decided to declare St. John Henry Newman a 'doctor' of the church, bestowing one of the Catholic Church's highest honors on the deeply influential 19th century Anglican convert who remains a unifying figure among conservatives and progressives. The Vatican said Leo confirmed the opinion of the Vatican's saint-making office during an audience Thursday with its prefect, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, and would make the decision official soon. The designation is one of the most significant decisions of Leo's young papacy and also carries deep personal meaning: Newman was strongly influenced by St. Augustine of Hippo, the inspiration of Leo's Augustinian religious order and Leo's namesake, Pope Leo XIII, made Newman a Catholic cardinal in 1879 after his conversion. Newman, a theologian and poet, is admired by Catholics and Anglicans alike because he followed his conscience at great personal cost. When he defected from the Church of England to the Catholic Church in 1845, he lost friends, work and even family ties, believing the truth he was searching for could only be found in the Catholic faith. The title of doctor is reserved for people whose writings have greatly served the universal Catholic Church. Only three-dozen people have been given the title over the course of the church's 2,000-year history, including the 5th century St. Augustine, St. Francis de Sales and St. Teresa of Avila. Unifying figure Newman experts said the decision to add the British theologian to their ranks was deeply significant, given Newman's contribution to Christian understanding of conscience, truth and education — and his near-universal appeal to progressives and conservatives alike. Jack Valero, who served as a spokesman for Newman's 2010 beatification and 2019 canonization ceremonies, said he had never come across anyone who had a problem with him. If back then Newman was the perfect unifying figure for a polarized church, he is even more so now, for a new pope who has made unity a core priority of his pontificate, Valero said. "You know, I look at Pope Leo and I hear him say, 'We need unity, we need peace,' and so on and I think, 'Here's the man who's going to make it happen,'' he said in an interview. The first American pope vowed during his May 18 installation Mass that he would work for unity so that the church could become a force for peace in a troubled world. It was a message of pacification after the sometimes turbulent pontificate of Pope Francis exacerbated divisions in the church. Leo has also repeatedly affirmed his identity as an Augustinian, deeply inspired by the teachings of the 5th century theologian. Many scholars have long considered Newman to be the Augustine of the modern era. Newman's conversion Anglicans split from Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. In the centuries that followed, Catholics were fined, discriminated against and killed for their faith. Newman was one of the founders of the so-called Oxford Movement of the 1830s, which sought to revive certain Roman Catholic doctrines in the Church of England by looking back to the traditions of the earliest Christian church. But he gave up a brilliant academic career at Oxford University and the pulpit of the university church to convert to Catholicism. As a Catholic, he became one of the most influential theologians of the era, bringing elements of the Anglican church into his new faith tradition. He died in Britain in 1890. Newman's path to being declared a doctor in the Catholic Church has been exceptionally quick. Pope Benedict XVI beatified him during a visit to Britain in 2010 and Pope Francis made him a saint in 2019, with then-Prince Charles in attendance. Francis declared two doctors of the church during his 12-year pontificate — St. Irenaeus and St. Gregory of Narek — and was on the receiving end of a concerted push by English-speaking bishops to add Newman to their ranks.
