Ordinariate in Move to Take Over Church

On Sunday 1st June, Fr David Lashbrooke of the Torbay Ordinariate group celebrated Mass in a disused church, which the group is renting from the Methodists. The Methodist community are vacating their church in Chelston, Torbay, which is a Grade II Listed Building, and are looking for a Christian group to take it over. It is the hope of Fr Lashbrooke that money will be found to purchase the church, together with the associated buildings. Although the group has been very welcome at the nearby Catholic Church of the Holy Angels, the range of facilities at at the former Methodist church would, in the words of Fr Lashbrooke, allow the Ordinariate group to "extend its outreach to the local community". Some commentators have been saying that the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham has been stagnating in recent month, without growing at the pace that many expected. However, there are many indications that things are happening which could be the springboard for future growth. The confidence shown by the Torbay group in contemplating the purchase of a major building is one such indication.