IN respect of your article concerning the churchyard at St Matthias and its upkeep (Malvern Gazette, October 26).

Firstly, it is worth remembering that up until five years ago the churchyard was largely a wilderness. To even get to graves pathways had to be cut through by volunteers from the congregation. This group later formed themselves into a working party and have since restored the two churchyards into an area of lawns and peace.

We have received an overwhelming number of expressions of gratitude to those who have given generously their time and money to bring this transformation about.

Unlike graves in municipal cemeteries the lands in the churchyards are, and remain, the property of the Church at all times and thus their upkeep is the responsibility of the DCC.

To maintain the standards that have now been achieved requires considerable effort and money, all of which come from the church funds, supplied in the main by the congregation. This maintenance is hampered and inhibited by items that are not permitted under Diocesan Regulations and which have been introduced on some graves.

The rules on this are quite clear and seek to ensure uniformity. By choosing to bury a loved one in the parish churchyard people are associating themselves with that church and accepting the privileges and obligations that go with it.

There are over 2,800 graves in the churchyards at St Matthias and where items have needed to be removed considerable effort has been made to contact relatives over what is of course a very sensitive issue.

In the majority of cases, once circumstances have been explained, grave carers have willingly co-operated. There now remain only 17 graves where disallowed items need removal and these are the subjects of the Faculty request.

In the current situation our only legal requirement was to post notices on the Church notice boards informing people of the Faculty request and of the procedure for objections to be raised. We have in fact gone well beyond this by additionally placing letters on each effected grave to try and ensure everyone is informed. In the past letters sent to grave carers by post have been reported as not received.

We very much regret any hurt that may have been caused by these actions but the procedures we have followed more than ensure everyone is kept informed and that a route for objections is properly in place.

The Rector and Churchwardens of St Matthias-at-the Link, Fr Graham Lyall, Mrs Mary Nobles and Mr John West.