From Michael Smyth.
I WAS disappointed to read (JEP, 19 March) about the proposed removal of the fixed pews in the Town Church to create extra seating for other parish meetings.
The only function of a church is as a place of worship and quiet meditation. The church hall could easily be used for other parish meetings, as well as the Town Hall.
Those pews are part of the history of the Town Church and therefore should not be consigned to the dustbin of history. Some of those pews have brass plates attached and one or or two of them are memorials.
When people visit a church they expect the traditional layout, which includes the pews, which are more orderly than chairs. Chairs are not comfortable or stable for those who wish to pray in the traditional manner of kneeling, as they tend to slide. I speak from experience.
I am all for money being spent on improvements to lighting, heating, the sound system, decorating, cleaning and keeping the church in good repair but not for alterations such as removing the pews. So leave the pews alone.
4 Sherland Close,
Mary Street,
St Saviour.
