Dorchester and dedications

[CHRIS PICKFORD]

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Unable to clarify the position at Dorchester, but the following note may gi=
ve an indication of the source of the confusion

In closing churches, the CofE has also merged parishes. It is therefore qui=
te common for the old parish church of (e.g.) St.Peter to become the centre=
of a new parish called St.Peter with St.Bartholomew and St.Anne etc. There=
is also a fairly wide variation in the way that these things are handled f=
rom one diocese to another. Fine in pastoral terms in encouraging people to=
see the remaining building as the successor of the churches that have clos=
ed, but confusing (sometimes in the extreme - I'm thinking of a case in Bir=
mingham where buildings have actually swapped dedications!) for those who w=
ant to refer in a longer time-frame to one and the same church building. Te=
chnically, the amalgamated name in Dorchester is almost certainly correct -=
but the building was originally the church of a single parish and (in my v=
iew) the original dedication of the building (rather than the current title=
of the parish) should still be highlighted in some way.=20

I have seen (and may even have made!) some pretty awful mistakes in confusi=
ng buildings because of these sort of changes

CP
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