Grateful for work in our churchyard

This is a very large churchyard, about five acres in size. St John's Church has a small and mainly elderly congregation. Some of the younger members keep the grass in front of the church neat and tidy.

For many years two elderly gentlemen, Mr Pountney and Mr Addison, have cut the grass at the back of the churchyard as far as the sexton's hut. St John's DCC are very grateful for their enthusiasm and hard work. We are sad that old age and illness have forced them to retire from this work.

One of St John's deputy churchwardens and our church treasurer have liaised with these two gentlemen over the grass cutting in the churchyard. They have always been told that if they came when the church office was open, then they were welcome to come in for a cup of coffee or a cold drink.

Until recently the rest of the churchyard was cut by young men as part of their community service work. This was stopped recently because of changes in the treatment of offenders.

Last year a family group came and cut the rest of St John's churchyard and cleared several skip-loads of rubbish from the far end of the churchyard. This followed a family bereavement. They promised to come back and help cut the grass in the churchyard this year, but so far they haven't come back.

When I spoke to the reporter for a story in the Shuttle/Times & News it was this group of men I referred to, not to the two elderly gentlemen who had given years of service to St John's churchyard and had had to retire from this work on health grounds.

As rector of the Kidderminster West Team Ministry, I have been working very hard to cover the whole parish since my two colleagues left last year.

St John's is one of four churches in the team ministry and I cannot possibly oversee every area of church life in all four churches. This is why the responsibility for St John's churchyard has been delegated to lay leaders of that congregation.

REV CANON HAROLD GODDARD

The Vicarage

Sutton Park Road

Kidderminster