To the Parish of St. John the Baptist with Holy Trinity.

The PCC wish you all to know where we are with our hopes for reopening our Church building.

As you know it is over 180 years old. Its roof has leaked for many years and its gas boiler cannot be fixed. The previous Archdeacon decided it should be closed for public safety reasons. Some of the plasterboard ceiling panels are now wet and one or two have crumbled. In May the storm moved a few more tiles and lifted some lead flashing. Fortunately, that is covered by our insurance, for which a claim has been received and a builder is booked. We are waiting for a substantial bequest which has cleared probate and could be with us at any time. Then we can put the work in hand. For insurance reasons we may not use the building until these problems are addressed. And we will not know the true condition of the roof and it’s supporting beams until our builder and the architect can inspect it properly. Meanwhile, our team have kept the building well ventilated, clean and tidy, so it is not mouldy or musty. We continue to insure it and to pay standing charges. The electrics are in good order so we could use modern electric heating.

During this time there have been significant changes of personnel in the Diocese and uncertainty about what resources will be available to support parishes, especially less wealthy ones like ours. Our new Bishop has some difficult decisions to make and will need time. We hope he will agree with us that St. John’s should reopen its building and that a new Vicar should be appointed. We stand ready to advertise nationally for the right person if the diocese agrees.

Meanwhile, thanks to Oakfield School, we continue our regular pattern of worship on Sundays and Thursdays. Our Parish Office continues to function. Our Church is alive and well. We have loyal and generous members, dedicated Wardens, Administrator and PCC, and enthusiastic worship leaders. We continue to pray for and serve this Parish including offering baptisms, funerals and weddings. We know there is sadness that our spiritual home is not yet fit for purpose. As you may know we are moving the Sunday Eucharist back into our own hall as of 1st August but we are still a very long way from solving our building problems. We ask for your patience.

But there is another question to be asked. Is it right to spend time, energy and money on a building so few people actually use? The slide in worship attendance has been steeper in Ryde than the average and that was before the lockdown. If our building is to be saved it must be repurposed for wider community use. It is spacious, airy, can be made watertight and welcoming. There is no other public building of its size and potential in this part of Ryde. To repurpose it, make it accessible and environmentally friendly would be a huge enterprise. We need to know if we have community support in these difficult times. Later this year, with the help of our acting Archdeacon and the Mayor of Ryde we hope to begin a community consultation, take an opinion survey, hold a vision day. We shall need the guidance of our friendly professional fund raiser. We are not the first church to be faced with this challenge but we need to do what is right for us.

We shall need your prayers. By God’s Grace we shall continue to serve.

Every blessing

Annis.