Parish to swap old church for new

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Worshippers have decided to swap their crumbling Victorian church for a state-of-the art 21st Century building.

St Paul's Church in the Grangetown area of Cardiff is asking the Church in Wales to put the building, opened in 1890, up for sale.

It says it cannot afford £1m for repairs over the next 10 years, a sum which would "cripple" its community.

The Archbishop of Wales welcomed the move saying: "The church is about people, not about buildings."

Father Ben Andrews, the associate priest of St Paul's, said the building has been a "much loved landmark" in the community for generations.

But he said times had changed hugely since the church's heyday and, with a much smaller congregation, it was now too big and costly to run.

Rather than be defeated by the building, we have decided to liberate ourselves of a problem that we neither need nor want Father Ben Andrews

A survey two years ago found at least £1m would need to be spent over the next 10 years to replace the roof and repair the building.

With running costs added, he said, St Paul's would need at least £160,000 a year to keep going.

Father Ben said: "These sums would cripple the church community; meanwhile the building would continue to be a constant burden for future generations."

The priest said they had to make a decision about the church to address a "serious situation to ensure that there is a worshipping presence here in Grangetown for the future".

"At the moment out mission and ministry is being hindered because of the buildings," he said.

The money needed for repairs would "cripple" the community

"In spite of this we have a growing, mixed age congregation and our work amongst children and young people is particularly vibrant."

They had investigated getting grants to help them keep the church "but the sums available do not stack up," explained Father Ben.

"Rather than be defeated by the building, we have decided to liberate ourselves of a problem that we neither need nor want."

He said he hoped a replacement will be built on the church hall site and that the congregation were hoping to be part of the Cardiff Bay development nearby "in a way which appeals to its new needs without abandoning the old."

The representative body of the Church in Wales will be instructed to put St Paul's on the market this week.

The Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Llandaff, Dr Barry Morgan, said the new church would mark an "exciting chapter" in the life of St Paul's.

"I am confident it will enable the congregation to build a stronger Christian presence in Cardiff's fastest growing area and better serve the needs of the whole community," added the archbishop.