Farmers market heading for Bishop's Waltham (From Hampshire Chronicle)

I would like to add to my post that I believe the pressure to merge parishes is both deceitful and destructive. Deceitful because it is based on false claims that there is a shortage of people offering themselves for ordained ministry which is not true. What is true is that the CofE which declared a central fund in 2010 in excess of £8 billion after a 15% gain on its investments is not prepared to pay for stipendiary ministers to serve parishes. It is taking advantage of those they call self supporting ministers because they do not have to pay for them. They do by making the sacrifice Bishops will not. They having abused parishioners to merge parishes now abuse voluntary workers to keep their granaries well stocked. Damaging because to ask one minister to serve 6 parishes is ludicrous. Even without the problems that Dr Alexandra has declared, no right thinking Bishop with any knowledge of pastoral work could believe it possible to join parishes against their wishes to form any sort of healthy Christian Community. There is no reason whatsoever why parishes need to be joined in any way. It simply is a Clerical Scam for demanding payment for what they call the cost of parochial church ministry, which is not being provided. The CofE has a moral duty to provide what it has withdrawn. There is no obligation on the people or PCCs to pay for what they are not receiving. How dare Bishops call themselves leaders? Leaders need followers and must set the example. Deception, abuse of power, perversion of Pastoral measures and process as well as bullying of weaker people are not the examples they have been appointed to set but that is all that their victims have witnessed and experienced. Does any Bishop serving or retired or even having recently declined to be proposed to be the Chairman of Synod Business Committee now back in Dover Diocese care to rebut my views and opinions by explaining and or justifying their past actions? I do not believe so.

My first post this refers to seems to have gone astray. It was a comment on the sad resignation of Dr Alexandra of her post as the incumbent of six parishes that after two years of trying she had failed to persuade 'Traditionalists' that the plan to make one parish from six was acceptable to them. It is clear from the report that she had been deceived into believing what was being offered was a ready made benefice not one she was expected to manufacture (which is the appropriate word) for herself from the raw materials that had been brought together by forceful abuse of power and perversion of pastoral measures and process just as has been the case with the parishes of Twyford, Owslebury, Morestead, and Colden Common, which I predict will also fail for the second time. Bishops should be building not destroying the Parochial Church but they clearly have no desire to do that so who do they think they are? I do not believe they are pastors.

My first post this refers to seems to have gone astray. It was a comment on the sad resignation of Dr Alexandra of her post as the incumbent of six parishes that after two years of trying she had failed to persuade 'Traditionalists' that the plan to make one parish from six was acceptable to them. It is clear from the report that she had been deceived into believing what was being offered was a ready made benefice not one she was expected to manufacture (which is the appropriate word) for herself from the raw materials that had been brought together by forceful abuse of power and perversion of pastoral measures and process just as has been the case with the parishes of Twyford, Owslebury, Morestead, and Colden Common, which I predict will also fail for the second time. Bishops should be building not destroying the Parochial Church but they clearly have no desire to do that so who do they think they are? I do not believe they are pastors.