Saving St Barnabas
Sir: I have not until today seen Gavin Stamp's article, 'Redundancy of imagina- tion' (4 September), in which he makes an outstandingly good case for a continuing independent parish of St Barnabas, Pimlico, where the church is under threat of closure. May I at this late stage say that I, and all my colleagues on the PCC there, agree with every word he says; we are deep- ly concerned about the whole issue of course, but not least are we anxious about the future of the church building (should it be closed for public worship). We recall what has happened to similar buildings now closed and, like St Augustine's, Hag- gerston (one of your correspondents points this out in his letter of 18 September), deteriorating. This simply must not happen to St Barnabas.
May I make the point that the parish is at present in the care of a priest-in-charge (who is also an industrial chaplain); there has been no incumbent since 1974. In that year, the PCC made representations to the
authorities so that the position of the priest' in-charge could be regularised, thus giving us all an opportunity to make and carry out plans to revive the parish, but to no avail. We have been particularly fortunate in hay ing a completely dedicated priest in charge of the parish, who has done all he can, within the limitations imposed on him by his chaplaincy work, to keep the parish alive, as indeed it still is. We are determined to stay alive, and are grateful for all the support which Gavin Stamp, Sir John Bel- jeman and others are giving us at this Nor" lying time.
John Garmonsway
16 Ranelagh Grove, London SW I
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