| Radford Semele Fire- the church continues to meet | 18th Mar 2008 | Download | Email to a Friend |
Early on Palm Sunday morning, St Nicholas church in Radford Semele was discovered to be on fire. Local residents rang the Fire Services but there was little they could do to stop the flames, and the church has been left as a stone shell. The church family and the local community have been devastated, but are determined to pull together, and there have been messages of support from other local villages, churches and media.
Work now begins on the remains of the church, investigating how the fire started and making the building safe. In the meantime, the church will continue to meet at the Community Hall, with our Easter service at 9.30am. Special services, such as weddings, will have to held at another local church, and we are already exploring the procedures for doing this.
As to the future, the church will continue to meet for worship and prayer in the Community Hall, and discussions will soon begin with the Diocesan authorities about how to proceed with some kind of restoration project that will meet the needs of both the church and community.
The Vicar, Rev’d Martin Green said:
“There can be good things that come out of a dreadful tragedy, although they may be hard to see at the moment with the shock that people are feeling. But the Easter story of death and resurrection should give us all hope for the future. Do pray for us as we begin this journey”.
In responding to the situation, the Archdeacon of Warwick, the Ven Michael Paget-Wilkes commented:
"The Diocese is extremely saddened at the loss of such a lovely historic
building. The "living church" met within hours of the tragedy for worship and
prayer in the local Community Hall, and are planning to continue like
this for the foreseeable future. The Diocese is fully supportive of the congregation’s efforts to rebuild the church with the future in mind."
FOR INITIAL CONTACT: Mervyn 01926 426922 / 07966535365
Mervyn Roberts
Director of Communications
Coventry Diocese
01926 426922
mervyn.roberts@covcofe.org
www.coventry.anglican.org