Church in Wales threatening to cast out Christian charity

A Christian-led charity set-up to help the community could be facing eviction after being locked in a battle with the Church in Wales (CiW).

CiW bosses have written legal letters to the Parish Trust in Trethomas threatening the charity with eviction proceedings if it does not agree to a new tenancy agreement.

The trust has said the new terms being proposed are unfavourable and would lead to uncertainty to use St Thomas Church as its base.

The Parish Trust was founded in 2019 by the Rev Dean Roberts, Rector of the Parish of Bedwas, and a Board of Trustees which was made up of representatives of the local parishes as a response to community need.

The charity based itself in St Thomas Church, one of six churches he was responsible for.

The church was commandeered during the pandemic, with the full knowledge and blessing of the CiW and local Bishop, as it was a modern building with good accessibility.

The Parish of Bedwas, which had two church buildings, were not in a financial position to look after both. Attendance at St Thomas had declined, as had finance. Since 2020, The Parish Trust has invested more than £50,000 into the church, including a new boiler, a new kitchen and environmentally-friendly lighting.

Running a variety of community services, including a food bank, the trust estimates it has helped more than 9,000 people.

The Parochial Church Council had even petitioned the bishop to legally ‘Decree the church Redundant and Closed for worship’ – such were the problems it caused them financially. Bishop Cherry Vann made such a decree on August 9, last year, only to change her mind a month later – legally ‘rescinding’ the decree.

For three years, the trust was led to believe the CiW would sell the building to it. A diocesan official arranged a survey and valuation, and the trust was asked to remove church fittings.

The trust has accused the CiW of ignoring emails, using delaying tactics and employing a solicitor to pressure its trustees into signing a variety of “unfavourable” tenancy agreements.

They said one of these agreements included a £12,000 yearly rent and a ban on religious activity in the church, which the trust says goes against its core values.

The trust also claims the CiW’s lawyers wanted trustees to sign a ‘Tenancy at Will’ – which they said wasn’t suitable as it could be terminated at any time.

Due to the trust’s refusal to sign the agreements, eviction proceedings have been threatened against it by the CiW.

Currently, the trust has no formal tenancy agreement with the CiW and is looking for a new, larger property as it “reluctantly” cuts ties with the CIW.

However, the trust fears it could be left unable to carry out its activities if it is evicted before a new venue can be found.

“Difficult attitude towards us”

Rev Roberts, who is the Parish Trust’s CEO, resigned as a CiW rector earlier this year to focus on the trust.

He said: “Because of my link with the CiW, we naively thought that it would be only too glad to tangibly support the charity, given its recent focus on helping the vulnerable in the community.

“For a long time, we had every hope that the CiW would see this opportunity for what it was and sell us the building.”

Rev Roberts said since his resignation from the CiW, it has “demonstrated a difficult attitude towards us, and even hostility, which is a real shame as we had hoped for better for both parties”.

Following the fiasco, the Parish Trust instructed a solicitor to defend it against “increasingly aggressive” CiW solicitors’ letters.

The trust said it demanded face-to-face dialogue with the bishop directly to settle the matter in a “Christian manner” instead of “wasting charity income on increasing legal fees”.

On August 7, the trust’s chair, Diane Brierley, wrote to the bishop’s solicitors calling for an end to the legal threats.

Trust “remains committed to working with CiW”

Mrs Brierley said the Parish Trust wanted an “amicable period of grace with the CiW, and for them to grant us more time, without restrictions or costs, as has existed to date”.

She continued: “We said that given the circumstances forced upon us, the trustees hoped to have alternative accommodation in place within six months.”

Mrs Brierley said the trust wanted a “direct line of communication” with the CiW “that doesn’t necessitate solicitors”, due to the “time and costs this results in”.

She continued: “We remain committed to working with the CiW to find a solution that reflects the Christian values which we both hold.”

When contacted by Caerphilly Observer the CiW did not answer our questions on why the trust was facing eviction, or why it was pursuing legal action against it.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the CiW wanted to find “an amicable agreement that suits all parties”.

It praised the work of the charity and said it hoped it would continue.

The spokesperson added: ““The Bishop of Monmouth, Cherry Vann, wrote to the trustees of the Parish Trust on September 14 proposing further meetings in the hope of finalising an agreement for the use of St Thomas’s Church by the trust while it looks for new premises.”