Angry Villagers Call for Removal of 'Inefficient' Vicar
Several residents in the village of Trillingham, in rural Essex, England, have petitioned to have the vicar of their local church removed from her position.
Claiming that she is "inefficient" and does not cater to the needs of the community, 300 villagers have signed a petition to have Rev. Lorna Smith removed as the priest-in-charge of St. Nicholas Church.
Resident, Ray Keane, started the campaign, stating that many who live in Trillingham call her a "tart without a heart."
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“She’s very unwelcoming. She doesn’t want flowers on graves, she won’t do house calls,” he told The Telegraph.
Keane also complained that she has refused to conduct funerals due to her part time schedule. Other locals note her not being present at many important town events such as St. James’s Day, and her closing the church months at a time due to the cold among their list of grievances
“We have been disenfranchised by this woman,” said Ann Burden, who has signed the petition.
“We just want her out of our village,” Keane added.
Residents became especially enraged when Smith, who comes from an evangelical background, ordered various renovations for the historic, 12th-century church, including having the church's Victorian pews removed and replaced with plastic chairs and having under-floor heating, a toilet and meeting room installed in the church.
The town's more traditional residents contacted their local diocese for an appeal, but were refused. This prompted Keane to start the petition and supporting residents have circulated it around the village.
When the petition was presented to the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt. Rev Stephen Cottrell, it was signed by one third of the village, but he also immediately refused the request, calling the language of the petition "personal and unkind."
“I am more concerned to support Lorna Smith whose good work in the parish is being undermined by people who are not part of the congregation and who would rather see the building embalmed in its current, mainly Victorian, arrangement than set free to be part of a living tradition able to serve the community for years to come,” he told The Telegraph.
Rt. Rev Stephen Cottrell also detailed that the renovations suggested by Rev. Smith have not ruined the church, but have enhanced it.
Churchgoers in support of Smith note that most of who oppose her do not even attend the church regularly, if at all.
“Of course there are people outside the church who have criticized Lorna but they don’t know her or what a good job she does,” said Ian Peskett.
Smith told The Telegraph that she will remain in her position as priest-in-charge as long as she is wanted by the bishop and the congregation.
