End of an era as Bacup’s last Church of England church closes

3:00pm Friday 30th March 2012 in Bacup Photograph of the Author By Vanessa Cornall, Crime reporter

SHUTTING Christ Church, Bacup SHUTTING Christ Church, Bacup

BACUP’s last Church of England church is to close after a two-year fight to save it failed.

A panel of church commissioners including the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Rev Peter Forster and the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard spent almost eight hours deliberating on whether to close Christ Church.

The decision was made at the end of a two-year review by the Diocese of Manchester, which now plans to controversially join the Christ Church congregation with that of Bacup’s Manchester Road Methodist Church.

Colin Allum, the leader of the Save Christ Church campaign said he was ‘saddened’ by the diocese’s decision.

He said: “Despite getting a fair hearing at Wednesday’s meeting, the commissioners went ahead with their decision to close the church.

“This decision has left a nasty taste in the mouths of 560 campaigners who have been fighting to keep the church open.

“In my view the parochial church commission mis-managed the church after they decided they wanted to join up with the Methodist Church.”

Campaigners have 28 days to appeal the decision.

If no appeal is lodged the 157-year-old church could be closed within eight weeks.

Mr Allum added: “I doubt many members of Christ Church’s congregation will want to join with the Methodist Church and that is why we are now exploring an alternative option, but I can’t say too much about that yet.

"At this stage we have no plans to appeal the decision.”

As well as fighting to keep the church open, campaigners have also been busy trying to raise £200,000 for repairs to the church.

Comments (12)

3:28pm Fri 30 Mar 12

ghost of sceptic says...

Shocking forget the religious side of it but this is a fantastic building and should be preserved.
Shocking forget the religious side of it but this is a fantastic building and should be preserved. ghost of sceptic

6:07pm Fri 30 Mar 12

pdb951 says...

I agree this is a brilliant building and must be saved
I agree this is a brilliant building and must be saved pdb951

6:44pm Fri 30 Mar 12

nice person says...

Another piece of history neglected,not many more left now,what a shame.. Sign of the state of the country...
Another piece of history neglected,not many more left now,what a shame.. Sign of the state of the country... nice person

6:58pm Fri 30 Mar 12

xbabychick1stx says...

We are the ones who have tried effortlessly to save this church but unfortunately a small minority with in my opinion 'hidden agenda,s' decided it wasn't worth fighting for. There are many members of the congregation that are devastated with this sad news, if you want to join our face book group you can at Save Christchurch Bacup who knows something might develop. God Works in mysterious ways.
We are the ones who have tried effortlessly to save this church but unfortunately a small minority with in my opinion 'hidden agenda,s' decided it wasn't worth fighting for. There are many members of the congregation that are devastated with this sad news, if you want to join our face book group you can at Save Christchurch Bacup who knows something might develop. God Works in mysterious ways. xbabychick1stx

9:01pm Fri 30 Mar 12

Noiticer says...

Is bacup the largest settlement in England without a parish church? If it is it is setting a trend which wil continue as the Church becomes more detached from the population yet expects to have a dozen bishops in the House of lords when that Chamber is reformed. Something odd in this surely?
Is bacup the largest settlement in England without a parish church? If it is it is setting a trend which wil continue as the Church becomes more detached from the population yet expects to have a dozen bishops in the House of lords when that Chamber is reformed. Something odd in this surely? Noiticer

10:11pm Fri 30 Mar 12

Jack-son says...

How many of the 560 campaigners have financially supported and regularly attended this church over recent years. With a congregation potential of 560 this church should be thriving and a beacon in the community.
What is wrong with joining with the Methodist church. Other areas have seen many benefits in doing so and have opened more 'doors' to spread the gospel. The Church of England and the Methodist Church have signed an agreement of understanding and co-operation or has this not got down to your churches level yet?
How many of the 560 campaigners have financially supported and regularly attended this church over recent years. With a congregation potential of 560 this church should be thriving and a beacon in the community. What is wrong with joining with the Methodist church. Other areas have seen many benefits in doing so and have opened more 'doors' to spread the gospel. The Church of England and the Methodist Church have signed an agreement of understanding and co-operation or has this not got down to your churches level yet? Jack-son

10:37pm Fri 30 Mar 12

timeforcommonsense says...

This is just the begining. Churches are closing across the country as the leaders of the Christian faith undermine themselves by preaching that we must live in harmony with other religions that are thriving whilst the Christian faith dies away. Yet people still do not believe that this country, a Christian country for hundreds of years, is heading down the path of becoming predominently Muslim. Within the next 20 years we will become a Muslim state because of peoples ignorance towards what is really happening right under our noses and still people are shouted down as racists if they speak out about this situation. Pakistan itself was once secular and very quickly became a Muslim state after power shifted the way of the Muslims and they marginalised every other religion, banning the practice of Christians, Hindus, and other religions. We are very quickly heading the same way.
This is just the begining. Churches are closing across the country as the leaders of the Christian faith undermine themselves by preaching that we must live in harmony with other religions that are thriving whilst the Christian faith dies away. Yet people still do not believe that this country, a Christian country for hundreds of years, is heading down the path of becoming predominently Muslim. Within the next 20 years we will become a Muslim state because of peoples ignorance towards what is really happening right under our noses and still people are shouted down as racists if they speak out about this situation. Pakistan itself was once secular and very quickly became a Muslim state after power shifted the way of the Muslims and they marginalised every other religion, banning the practice of Christians, Hindus, and other religions. We are very quickly heading the same way. timeforcommonsense

6:10am Sat 31 Mar 12

Excluded again says...

Common sense is one of those rare things where even those with very little of it feel they have enough to be proud of it.

If the British people are becoming less religious and more secular, why would they become Muslim? If they cannot be bothered with a religion which expects them to go to church once a week, they are not going fall over themselves to join a religion that expects them to pray 4 times a day.

Britain is becoming a more and more secular country. How many white British people do you know who have converted to Islam? Or have even the tiniest of inclinations to do so?
Common sense is one of those rare things where even those with very little of it feel they have enough to be proud of it. If the British people are becoming less religious and more secular, why would they become Muslim? If they cannot be bothered with a religion which expects them to go to church once a week, they are not going fall over themselves to join a religion that expects them to pray 4 times a day. Britain is becoming a more and more secular country. How many white British people do you know who have converted to Islam? Or have even the tiniest of inclinations to do so? Excluded again

12:11pm Sat 31 Mar 12

timeforcommonsense says...

It would seem you are showing your own ignorance. It is more a question of demographics, as the number of Mosques in our country continues to rise. That said, there are converts within this country, Steven Reid well known so called shoe bomber, Yusuf Islam, better known as Cat Stevens, famous English song writer to name just two. So you see you and I both know of at least two converts and there are hundreds if not thousands more just like them. In the prison system inmates are encouraged to convert for protection reasons and this is where it starts. The conversions start in the under classes and undermines the country from the roots up. You can sit on your sanctamonious arse trying to undermine a valid argument but it wont stop what is happening in this country. Within the next twenty years this will become a Muslim state and anyone against Islam will be victimised and persicuted as in other Muslim states. I hope you will enjoy it, personally I'll be well out of here as it is impossible to stop the rot whilst there are pious, pc idiots who are making it easy to sell this country out from under their own feet. Who will look stupid then?
It would seem you are showing your own ignorance. It is more a question of demographics, as the number of Mosques in our country continues to rise. That said, there are converts within this country, Steven Reid well known so called shoe bomber, Yusuf Islam, better known as Cat Stevens, famous English song writer to name just two. So you see you and I both know of at least two converts and there are hundreds if not thousands more just like them. In the prison system inmates are encouraged to convert for protection reasons and this is where it starts. The conversions start in the under classes and undermines the country from the roots up. You can sit on your sanctamonious arse trying to undermine a valid argument but it wont stop what is happening in this country. Within the next twenty years this will become a Muslim state and anyone against Islam will be victimised and persicuted as in other Muslim states. I hope you will enjoy it, personally I'll be well out of here as it is impossible to stop the rot whilst there are pious, pc idiots who are making it easy to sell this country out from under their own feet. Who will look stupid then? timeforcommonsense

1:26pm Sat 31 Mar 12

spendmymoneywisely says...

Although not an Anglican I feel deeply saddened at the decision to close the Church. What is wrong with our country when people prefer to go shopping on a Sunday than spend a short time meeting others who share their values and beliefs. The Jews and Moslems find the same strength and hope plus a code of ethics from practising their religions as we did from practising ours. This increasing secularisation of society has turned us into selfish, greedy and unhappy people with a warped set of values. Everyone needs to have belief in something and I don't think that Asda or Tesco will comfort us in time of need or rejoice with us on happy occassions!
Although not an Anglican I feel deeply saddened at the decision to close the Church. What is wrong with our country when people prefer to go shopping on a Sunday than spend a short time meeting others who share their values and beliefs. The Jews and Moslems find the same strength and hope plus a code of ethics from practising their religions as we did from practising ours. This increasing secularisation of society has turned us into selfish, greedy and unhappy people with a warped set of values. Everyone needs to have belief in something and I don't think that Asda or Tesco will comfort us in time of need or rejoice with us on happy occassions! spendmymoneywisely

1:34pm Sat 31 Mar 12

spendmymoneywisely says...

xbabychick1stx wrote:
We are the ones who have tried effortlessly to save this church but unfortunately a small minority with in my opinion 'hidden agenda,s' decided it wasn't worth fighting for. There are many members of the congregation that are devastated with this sad news, if you want to join our face book group you can at Save Christchurch Bacup who knows something might develop. God Works in mysterious ways.
I can't find any trace of 'Save Christchurch Bacup' on Facebook are you sure that's the correct title?
[quote][p][bold]xbabychick1stx[/bold] wrote: We are the ones who have tried effortlessly to save this church but unfortunately a small minority with in my opinion 'hidden agenda,s' decided it wasn't worth fighting for. There are many members of the congregation that are devastated with this sad news, if you want to join our face book group you can at Save Christchurch Bacup who knows something might develop. God Works in mysterious ways.[/p][/quote]I can't find any trace of 'Save Christchurch Bacup' on Facebook are you sure that's the correct title? spendmymoneywisely

3:19pm Sat 31 Mar 12

xbabychick1stx says...

It is definatley Save Christchurch Bacup the link from my face book is http://www.facebook.
com/savechristchurch
bacup hope you can join us x
It is definatley Save Christchurch Bacup the link from my face book is http://www.facebook. com/savechristchurch bacup hope you can join us x xbabychick1stx

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