It's Time For A Commercial

The congregation dwindles

The other day I was painting away with a dear Lady volunteer. You have to agree that in all of my articles it isn't long before a Lady appears on the scene; well it's a question of getting your priorities right. Anyway this charming Lady turned up with a young man aged about 12 and she told me he was a Buddhist. My Lady volunteer is a Roman Catholic and she concluded I was a Methodist. In reality I think I'm more of a heathen with Communistic Tendencies. So you could say we had three different Religions working together in complete harmony, maybe the three of us ought to go off to Northern Ireland and the Middle East; we might be able to teach them a thing or two.

If any of my more disconcerting readers have never called in at Methwold Chapel may I suggest a visit? At the risk of being taken to task by the 'powers that be' - every time I go in the place it always reminds me of the Palace of Varieties at Leeds where the TV programme 'Old Tyme Music Hall' used to come from. I'm convinced that one day I shall walk in and see there the Chairman, Leonard Sachs, using those long words, which he always did. By the way what an excellent programme that was. Ok maybe it was aimed at us oldies but so what, good music clean jokes; at least it appealed to me and I suspect many others.

Back to our Chapel if we may. What I like about it among other things is that is has a balcony, whether other local Chapels have one I don't know. Thinking about it, what other local Chapels? Do I know of any? Northwold once had one but not now. I remember one at Stoke Ferry that's now a house. Has the one at Boughton been sold? Just how many Chapels have over the years been sold off in our area? I still think it's only a question of time before the same happens to our Methwold Chapel. Most of our Churches in our area, the ones that are open that is, attract only the smallest of Congregations. So just where are we going? Are our Church and Chapel going days over - a thing of the past? Could be, and yet there can be a future; but not if we stay as we are. We have to move into the present time, the 21st century, and how we do that is something maybe we could touch on another day. In the meantime would our local Ministers wish to comment? I for one would be interested in what they had to say.

Les Lawrence