Church services hit by collapsed ceiling
For weddings and a funeral you cannot go to this church Shropshire – as nearly two-thirds of the roof plaster is in danger of falling.
Repairs at St John's Church on Gravel Hill in Ludlow are likely to cost a "six figure sum", according to the church's rector the Venerable Colin Williams.
But he vowed life at the church would go on, despite the problems being far worse than church members had originally thought and forcing members to suspend weddings, funerals and baptisms.
A fall of plaster in the church's south porch in August confirmed it was unstable, he said, meaning services had been confined to the chancel – the area immediately surrounding the altar – in recent months.
But an investigation has now revealed the scale of the problem, and "immediate decisions" needed to be made, Mr Williams said.
"We are dealing with a much more extensive problem than had originally been thought," he said. "It cannot be put right by simply removing individual patches of plaster.
"At least 60 per cent of the plasterwork in the nave is in danger of falling. To deal with this situation will need a complete replacement at a cost which is likely to be not far short of a six figure sum.
"The knock on effect of this is that we shall be writing to funeral directors to let them know that for the foreseeable future it will not be possible for St John's to host funeral services.
"We shall also not be booking baptisms at St John's for the time being," he added.
Services will continue in the chancel every Sunday at 9.30am, he said, as well as "small scale" activities such as Lent groups and choir practice.
But the St John's Christmas celebrations, planned for December 15, will now take place at Ludlow's St Laurence's Church, as will toddler group meetings.
St Laurence itself is already undergoing a restoration project estimated to cost £5 million over the coming years.
Mr Williams said: "Above all we need to pray for discernment of what God is calling us to do, and be as a community in the face of these difficulties.
"God still has things in store for the community of St John's – our task is faithfully to search that out."
He said the next step was to get together a strategy to find funding and deal with the problems.
"Consultation on any proposals will be made, and there will be an opportunity for the community to have a voice in this process," he said.
