Church no-show sparks anger

9:56am Wednesday 19th March 2008

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A GROUP of concerned residents, who met to discuss fears that graveside tributes could be removed, branded the church as "heartless and disrespectful" after a representative failed to turn up.

People were left angry after Rev Roger Antell, the rector of the Parish of Stoke Prior, Wychbold and Upton Warren, or a member of the Diocese of Worcester, shunned the important gathering despite a number of invitations.

“It is disrespectful and heartless and people feel that they have been let down by the church.”

Steve Sargent, whose grandmother is buried in Wychbold

Residents met at Wychbold village hall on Monday night in the hope of talking through the issue and making it known how many people it affects.

The meeting was organised after the mum of Spa schoolboy and motorcycle star Chris Jones, who died after crashing at a race in 2005, was told that she must remove graveside tributes to her son.

Pam Jones, from Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, was sent a letter informing her that the amount of flowers and tributes at the grave at St Michael's Church, Wychbold, are against regulations.

Following her anger and disbelief at the order, more people have come forward to express their own concerns about relatives' graves.

Notices have been put up at churchyards and in the latest edition of the church's Community Link magazine, informing other families of the rules. People have been given a deadline of May 1 to remove items.

Steve Sargent, who spoke at the meeting and whose grandmother is buried in Wychbold, said: "We sent invitations to the church and made sure they knew the meeting was taking place, but a representative is not here.

"Those empty chairs say it all. They are not interested in the problem or how important it is to local people.

"It is disrespectful and heartless and people feel that they have been let down by the church."

People who gathered at the meeting said they felt there was nothing wrong with the graves and that the tributes were not causing a problem.

"One of the most popular hymns at church is All Things Bright and Beautiful, but it seems that the church wants to change that to all things dull and grey," added Mr Sargent.

However, residents vowed to still make their feelings known to the church. They are planning to gather names of support in a protest petition before the May deadline.

The group is also calling for a show of people power as they prepare to take to the streets of Bromsgrove and Droitwich Spa to highlight the issue and begin the list, which will be sent to the Diocese of Worcester, councillors and MPs.

A Diocesan spokesman said that Rev Antell did not attend the meeting as he had a long-standing prior engagement. He did receive an anonymous invitation to the meeting, but was unable to respond as there was no indication of the subject matter.

Anyone wishing to support the petition, or offer advice to residents, can email pamjones259@btinternet.com