A year ago the vicar of Burbage’s All Saints Church, Andy Thewlis, wrote a letter to his congregation accusing them of “grumbling, gossip and disunity.” The letter was widely publicised in the national media. He apologised and subsequently left the parish.
Now All Saints Church has been in the news again with an article in The Times (December 3), revealing peacemakers had been called in to Burbage to ‘heal the flock’.
Archdeacon of Wiltshire, the Ven. Dr. Sue Groom, speaking on BBC Wiltshire said she was “saddened and disappointed” by the article. “The parish has moved on and is working on reconciliation and The Times article hasn’t helped… the more publicity the less likely it is we will have closure. It makes it more difficult.”
“The resignation of the former incumbent along with the letter he wrote to parishioners back in November 2017 did leave some hurt in its wake and this needs to be reconciled before someone new arrives.”
Bridge Builders is the Christian organisation which has been called in to help the process of finding a new vicar for the parish: “The reason I’ve asked Bridge Builders to get involved is that they are not part of the Diocese and will listen confidentially to everyone. They will get people to listen to each other so we can come to a common mind of what we are looking for in a new vicar.”
“The Parochial Church Council hope that this process will enable us to move forward confidently and be ready to welcome a new Team Vicar. Christians are real human people and like any family we fall out and squabble and live together again and go forward in the same direction.”
“And, as the churchwardens have told me, the parish is in a much better place now and I am confident the process of finding a new member to their clergy team is now underway.”
In the meantime, church services at All Saints in Burbage are being led by the Savernake Team’s Rector and two Vicars who serve all eleven parishes in the Savernake area.
King Wenceslas and our local food bank
