This cannot be true, its been reported to us that one Hastings Councillor has said to another "I would rather St Mary in the Castle was bulldozed then a church have it."
If anyone can confirm this please let us know!
As Pastors we have decided the above cannot be true, if it were true it would be a very sad day for Hastings and St Mary in the Castle.
Saturday 27 September 2008
Wednesday 24 September 2008
Press Announcement September 2008
Sonrise Church Announcement.
Glenn and Cathy Khan the Senior Pastors of Sonrise Church in Hastings in conjunction with the Trustees of the charity have decided to invoke the 18 month clause in their 5 year lease with Hastings Borough Council for St Mary in the Castle..
This means that at the end of January 2009 they will no longer be the tenants of St Mary in the Castle.
Glenn and Cathy Khan wish to make the following statement:
“ We would like to thank all those who have given us their support and encouragement in the last year of us running St Mary in the Castle. As many in the community would be aware that since January 2007 we have been the subject of a faith hate campaign. So extreme has this campaign against us as a family been that on several occasions we have had to involve the police.
We feel that even though we have proven that we can run St Mary in the Castle very successfully as a community venue for the whole of Hastings we are still not being left alone to enjoy our tenancy of the building.
We are no longer willing to put our family, our home and congregation at risk due to a small minority of people who unfortunately seem to have the support of the local Labour party which saddens and shocks us at the same time. A councillor within the Labour party had published a letter against us with false and incorrect information, which gives our full home address, this has now been placed on the Internet putting our family and us at risk once again.
The Local Labour have never offered us any support except for councillor Godfrey Daniels who helped resolve an issue in regard to the road outside the building, The Labour party do carry a great responsibility in how we have suffered both as a church and as a family. Had they kept to looking at what is best for Hastings and not seen us a pawn to use in their fight with the local Conservative Party we may not have suffered so much.
We were shocked by the hatred we witnessed at the council meeting in January 2007 when our proposal for St Mary in the Castle was discussed. We were personally threatened by members of a local arts group, but we had hoped that as people saw us fulfilling our promises in regard to keeping St Mary in the Castle open to the public this would abate, this is clearly not the case.
From a Christian perspective we choose to forgive those who have attacked so often in the last year and half and hold no malice against them, in fact we would ask that God would bless them.
St Mary in the Castle is a unique building that we saw had great potential for us and the community and that’s why we presented a full business plan to Hastings Borough Council at the end of 2006.
We believe we have fulfilled all our aims in that business plan, including opening it up as a Community and Arts Centre, Art Gallery and Coffee Bar, with Church Services being held on Sundays.
We would hope who ever the new tenants are after we leave, they would continue to make St Mary in the Castle available to everyone in Hastings.
We would again like to thank all those who have given us their support and encouragement and all the local churches who stood with us in prayer.”
Glenn and Cathy Khan
Senior Pastors
Sonrise Church
Glenn and Cathy Khan the Senior Pastors of Sonrise Church in Hastings in conjunction with the Trustees of the charity have decided to invoke the 18 month clause in their 5 year lease with Hastings Borough Council for St Mary in the Castle..
This means that at the end of January 2009 they will no longer be the tenants of St Mary in the Castle.
Glenn and Cathy Khan wish to make the following statement:
“ We would like to thank all those who have given us their support and encouragement in the last year of us running St Mary in the Castle. As many in the community would be aware that since January 2007 we have been the subject of a faith hate campaign. So extreme has this campaign against us as a family been that on several occasions we have had to involve the police.
We feel that even though we have proven that we can run St Mary in the Castle very successfully as a community venue for the whole of Hastings we are still not being left alone to enjoy our tenancy of the building.
We are no longer willing to put our family, our home and congregation at risk due to a small minority of people who unfortunately seem to have the support of the local Labour party which saddens and shocks us at the same time. A councillor within the Labour party had published a letter against us with false and incorrect information, which gives our full home address, this has now been placed on the Internet putting our family and us at risk once again.
The Local Labour have never offered us any support except for councillor Godfrey Daniels who helped resolve an issue in regard to the road outside the building, The Labour party do carry a great responsibility in how we have suffered both as a church and as a family. Had they kept to looking at what is best for Hastings and not seen us a pawn to use in their fight with the local Conservative Party we may not have suffered so much.
We were shocked by the hatred we witnessed at the council meeting in January 2007 when our proposal for St Mary in the Castle was discussed. We were personally threatened by members of a local arts group, but we had hoped that as people saw us fulfilling our promises in regard to keeping St Mary in the Castle open to the public this would abate, this is clearly not the case.
From a Christian perspective we choose to forgive those who have attacked so often in the last year and half and hold no malice against them, in fact we would ask that God would bless them.
St Mary in the Castle is a unique building that we saw had great potential for us and the community and that’s why we presented a full business plan to Hastings Borough Council at the end of 2006.
We believe we have fulfilled all our aims in that business plan, including opening it up as a Community and Arts Centre, Art Gallery and Coffee Bar, with Church Services being held on Sundays.
We would hope who ever the new tenants are after we leave, they would continue to make St Mary in the Castle available to everyone in Hastings.
We would again like to thank all those who have given us their support and encouragement and all the local churches who stood with us in prayer.”
Glenn and Cathy Khan
Senior Pastors
Sonrise Church
Tuesday 23 September 2008
Blind Choir From Sierra Leone August 07
Friday 3rd August
The Sierra Leone Blind School Choir concert was a huge success. The following account appeared, slightly shortened, in the Hastings Observer:
Deeply moved, the whole audience of 400 people gave a 10-minute standing ovation and clapped their appreciation to the rhythm of traditional folk and gospel songs, as the 25-strong choir from the Milton Margai Blind School danced off the stage at the end of an amazing performance at St Mary-in-the-Castle on Friday.
The choristers, drummers and percussionists, assisted by composer Alie Conteh on the keyboard, thrilled everyone present with their 100-minute programme, entitled “Sing Freetown”, telling the history of Sierra Leone, from the abolition of slavery and the founding of Freetown, through the crown colony’s independence in 1961, to the devastating 11-year rebel war, the restoration of peace and democracy and the children’s hopes for a better future. The music mixed traditional West African songs and hymns, specially composed items, drums and dance, the whole pacy programme being structured by the delightful voices of young narrators Joanna Davies and Osman Kamara, who conveyed in just a few words the story of Sierra Leone’s journey to democracy, and the young people’s pride in their country. At times it was easy to forget that singers and musicians were all blind, or nearly so, as they moved around the stage, dancing rhythmically and keeping perfect time.
The youngsters had spent the afternoon in Hastings, enjoying the sunshine on the beach and the rides at the Flamingo Park fun-fair, before going off to Blacklands Church where they were delighted to find that the Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link’s ex-pat friends had provided a delicious meal of food familiar to them, including their favourite cassava leaf soup. The Link members who looked after the choristers in the afternoon were deeply impressed with their dignity, the way they helped each other the whole time and their refusal to let their blindness stop them having fun. One of the boys said: “We’re learning so much about Britain and life, it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to come here.”
The concert was part of the second UK tour organised by the charity which supports the Blind School, and which is chaired by former British High Commissioner Sir Peter Penfold, who is also Patron of the Link. Sir Peter thanked Hastings for inviting the choir down and for looking after them so well, and spoke briefly about his association and the School’s needs. Jeremy Birch, vice-chair of the Friendship Link, expressed everyone’s admiration for the choir’s talent and zest for living. The audience clearly agreed: a bucket-collection realised an incredible £750, bringing the total raised by the event to around £3,000. The money will be shared equally by the two charities.
Derek Tomblin, chairman of the Link, said: “It was a thrilling yet humbling experience to witness the vitality and optimism of these young people in spite of all the disadvantages they have to face. I’d like to thank everyone who came along and gave so generously, Hastings Borough Council for its tremendous support, and Glenn and Cathy Khan and the whole Sonrise Church team, who beavered away all week to get St Mary-in-the-Castle ready in time and provided a very professional team of stewards to ensure the evening ran smoothly. It was wonderful that the very first event in the ‘new’ St Mary-in-the-Castle was such an inspiring concert that sent us out into the night, glad to be alive.”
Anyone who would like to support either the Link or the choir can get more information on-line at www.hastingshastings.org.uk or www.miltonmargaischool.org, or contact Robin Gray on 436603.
The Sierra Leone Blind School Choir concert was a huge success. The following account appeared, slightly shortened, in the Hastings Observer:
Deeply moved, the whole audience of 400 people gave a 10-minute standing ovation and clapped their appreciation to the rhythm of traditional folk and gospel songs, as the 25-strong choir from the Milton Margai Blind School danced off the stage at the end of an amazing performance at St Mary-in-the-Castle on Friday.
The choristers, drummers and percussionists, assisted by composer Alie Conteh on the keyboard, thrilled everyone present with their 100-minute programme, entitled “Sing Freetown”, telling the history of Sierra Leone, from the abolition of slavery and the founding of Freetown, through the crown colony’s independence in 1961, to the devastating 11-year rebel war, the restoration of peace and democracy and the children’s hopes for a better future. The music mixed traditional West African songs and hymns, specially composed items, drums and dance, the whole pacy programme being structured by the delightful voices of young narrators Joanna Davies and Osman Kamara, who conveyed in just a few words the story of Sierra Leone’s journey to democracy, and the young people’s pride in their country. At times it was easy to forget that singers and musicians were all blind, or nearly so, as they moved around the stage, dancing rhythmically and keeping perfect time.
The youngsters had spent the afternoon in Hastings, enjoying the sunshine on the beach and the rides at the Flamingo Park fun-fair, before going off to Blacklands Church where they were delighted to find that the Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link’s ex-pat friends had provided a delicious meal of food familiar to them, including their favourite cassava leaf soup. The Link members who looked after the choristers in the afternoon were deeply impressed with their dignity, the way they helped each other the whole time and their refusal to let their blindness stop them having fun. One of the boys said: “We’re learning so much about Britain and life, it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to come here.”
The concert was part of the second UK tour organised by the charity which supports the Blind School, and which is chaired by former British High Commissioner Sir Peter Penfold, who is also Patron of the Link. Sir Peter thanked Hastings for inviting the choir down and for looking after them so well, and spoke briefly about his association and the School’s needs. Jeremy Birch, vice-chair of the Friendship Link, expressed everyone’s admiration for the choir’s talent and zest for living. The audience clearly agreed: a bucket-collection realised an incredible £750, bringing the total raised by the event to around £3,000. The money will be shared equally by the two charities.
Derek Tomblin, chairman of the Link, said: “It was a thrilling yet humbling experience to witness the vitality and optimism of these young people in spite of all the disadvantages they have to face. I’d like to thank everyone who came along and gave so generously, Hastings Borough Council for its tremendous support, and Glenn and Cathy Khan and the whole Sonrise Church team, who beavered away all week to get St Mary-in-the-Castle ready in time and provided a very professional team of stewards to ensure the evening ran smoothly. It was wonderful that the very first event in the ‘new’ St Mary-in-the-Castle was such an inspiring concert that sent us out into the night, glad to be alive.”
Anyone who would like to support either the Link or the choir can get more information on-line at www.hastingshastings.org.uk or www.miltonmargaischool.org, or contact Robin Gray on 436603.
Reply to Martyn Saunders Rawlins
The following is a news report published in the Hastings Observer concerning our new Art Gallery opening and the reply from Martyn Saunders Rawlins in the letters section of the Observer the following week, attacking us and our Christian faith. We have also included letters written to the Observer by other members of the public to bring correction to Martyn Saunders Rawlins and the statements he made.
Published Date: 28 April 2008
By Julia Taylor - Hastings Observer
It was one of the most controversial decisions in 2007 - to allow the Sonrise Church to run St-Mary-in-the-Castle - and today the church pastors will be eagerly awaiting the local election results.
Because at the time of the controversy, Labour councillor Jay Kramer said if Labour got back into power they would remove Sonrise from the building, though this was later retracted by her fellow councillor Jeremy Birch. Glenn and Cathy Khan have been running the historic building for the last nine months, and the public opinion of the Born Again Christian church appears to have done an about-turn. Cathy, 42, said that people had mistaken their church for namesake right-wing homophobic churches in the US, and stressed that they had no associations with them.
Peter Finch, Hastings Borough councillor, has always backed Sonrise. This week he said that the church running St-Mary-in-the-Castle was saving the tax-payer £100,000 a year. He said: "If one recalls the controversy and disagreement prior to the lease being granted and the distinct lack of support from some quarters, Sonrise Church are doing an excellent job. "There are many varied public and non church uses of the building with an estimated attendance of 12,000 to 13,000 people."
With the church services limited to Sunday, the pastors spend the rest of the week business-managing and maintaining the performance space and cafe at St-Mary-in-the-Castle. "We're passionate about the building itself," Cathy, originally from Croydon, said. "And we're committed to seeing the building used by every group in the community." One group now making use of the space is Bourn4Art. Originally based at the Bourne Hall, the group were asked to leave when the Old Town Wesley Chapel was sold by owner Tony Smith from Brownbread Horse Rescue Centre in Battle.
Following a renovation of the hall after he purchased it in 1992, Tony no longer has the time to run it, and made the hard decision to let it go. But very soon after the 180 Bourn4Art artists found their work homeless, Cathy and Glenn from Sonrise stepped in. Bourn4Art organiser John Pearce said the group would still be keeping the name, despite the change of location, and have their first exhibition planned for June, as well as a permanent gallery. He said: "It's fantastic.
It's the best hanging space for open exhibitions between Dover and Brighton. It's internationally known. "It would be a great shame to see a gallery space like this with empty walls. "What I have found is, to get your work hung at a gallery is very expensive and cliquey.
I wanted to give all artists an opportunity to hang their work. "For the open gallery it's £2 per week per painting for a minimum of four weeks. All the work is for sale. "It's looking very promising." For more information about Bourn4Art call John on 07833 796323. For more information about the church go to www.sonrisechurch.co.uk.
.......................................................................................................................................................................
Reply from Martyn Saunders-Rawlins
Re: 'Evicted Bourne artists find new home, Hastings Observer, May 9:
THE above article reads like an advertisement for the church and is not as impartial as one would expect from a newspaper. There is no hint of irony in Sonrise Church offering a home to the Bourn4Art artists when their first action on gaining possession of St. Mary-in-the-Castle was to evict South Coast Artists (SoCo) simply because they felt that some of the art displayed by this pre-eminent group was considered 'unsuitable.'
In the original article it was suggested that the public opinion of Sonrise Church appears to have done an about-turn which is a misconception as the controversy surrounding the decision to give the lease to Sonrise Church continues unabated, with artists and other local residents actively boycotting any event that takes place at SMIC. We continue to object to Sonrise Church's occupancy of St. Mary-in-the-Castle for many reasons, one being that the lease awarded was on ridiculously favourable terms that disadvantage the council tax payers of Hastings.
Sonrise Church also receives an annual grant of £10,000 towards maintenance of the building and so effectively pays no rent at all. The people of Hastings are subsidising Sonrise Church.Cathy Khan is at pains to try to distance her church from "right-wing homophobic churches in the US", yet it was Sonrise Church which welcomed the Rt. Reverend Wallace Benn to SMIC last year to deliver a sermon.
Bishop Benn is one of the most controversial figures in the Church of England who not only staunchly opposes the ordination of women or homosexuals, but actively preaches against the acceptance of same-sex relationships.Many Christians as well as non-Christians find these exclusive beliefs quite unacceptable and abhor the fact that as council taxpayers our money is used to support them. Cllr Finch's estimation of an attendance of 12,000-13,000 must also be questioned.
Those of us who live near to SMIC and pass it every day and most evenings, are well aware that most of the time it is rather quiet and that not only do there seem to be fewer events held there but many of those that are of Christian nature and not of general appeal. Even the recent jazz supper organized by St. Mary-in-the-Castle Friends was poorly attended, mainly due to the boycott.
I wish John Pierce and the Bourn4Art artists every success at SMIC but feel that they should stop to consider what happened to SoCo and to ask why Pelham Arts, Sonrise Church's last arts initiative failed?
MARTYN SAUNDERS-RAWLINS The Croft
Replys
I FAIL to understand why your correspondent has got so concerned about Sonrise Church. I recently hired the venue for a large secular event and found them to be charming and helpful.
The venue was as good as ever, and with the Sonrise people on hand it was actually an easier event to run than those I have run in St. Marys in the past. I also fail to see why getting Wallace Benn who happens to be the Bishop of Lewes, in to give a talk is a problem.
Personally I do not agree with his views but he is the local Bishop not some odd guy from a long way off.I would say give Sonrise Church a chance to get St Marys working as a venue. They were really good to us and didn't seem to be in any way obstructive.
After all what we all want is to see the Arts thriving in this town and here is a venue that is working so let's use it.
KEITH LEECH Collier Road
I MUST correct Martyn Saunders-Rawlins' statement that the recent jazz supper organised by St Mary in the Castle Friends was "poorly attended". In fact, 200 or so people enjoyed an evening of fine music from Chris Hutchinson, Juliet Devereaux and friends and feedback from the event on April 19 has been overwhelmingly positive. We are hoping that all those who wish to see St Mary in the Castle take its rightful place in the life of Hastings will turn out for our next event on July 12 when Mike Hatchard and friends will be providing the entertainment at this magnificent venue.
CHRIS SHOREMAN Chairman St Mary in the Castle Friends
MR Saunders-Rawlins (Letters, May 30) is surely 'cutting off his nose to spite his face' by refusing to use St Mary-in-the-Castle and then complaining that it is not open enough to being used (when much effort has been put in to making it available to a wide range of groups). And he is entirely wrong to say that my friends at Sonrise Church 'evicted' SoCo Arts group, as their going was a Council decision before Sonrise gained access to the building.
However, my reason for writing is to set the record straight about my friend, Bishop Wallace Benn, who Mr. Saunders-Rawlins calls "controversial", maintaining that he opposes ordination for homosexuals and women and is against the acceptance of same-sex relationships. Wallace (who as Bishop of Lewes is Area Bishop for our town too) is in fact continuing the long-standing stance of the Church of England (and of the majority of Christian denominations), based upon the Bible, that the place for sexual activity is within marriage alone, because such activity is too precious to be squandered elsewhere.
It is surely those who seek to alter that established teaching who are "controversial". The Bishop has never said that homosexuals should not be ordained, nor that relationships between people of the same sex should not be deep and committed. What he has said, in accord with church teaching, is that all those who are unmarried (including those of a heterosexual orientation) should not be engaging in sexual intercourse.
Anyone who disobeys the biblical guidelines in that way (or any other) needs therefore to come for forgiveness to God, and should not be ordained while continuing in such error. While Wallace believes the Bible allows only men to lead churches (and he and I have an amicable disagreement about that), he has been scrupulously fair in accepting the opposite view within the Church of England, and has been a real support to those ordained women under his care.
Bishop Wallace is a delightful person, and a good friend to our town (having campaigned strongly against any closure of departments in our hospital, for example). It is unfair and untrue to give only the narrow view of him expressed in that letter.
REV. CHRIS KEY Rural Dean of Hastings & St Leonards
Our Reply
I WOULD like to bring some correction to a letter published in last week's Observer in regard to Sonrise Church and St Mary in the Castle. The letter was in response to us helping a local arts group 'Bourne4art' find a new home for their exhibitions at SMIC.
A number of points were made by Martyn Saunders Rawlins who is known as an expert in Russian Art with strong connections to Sotheby's and Bonhams (as reported in the Daily Telegraph). First he claims that, as new tenants of the building, our first action was to evict the previous tenants Soco arts group.
The truth is that their tenancy agreement was with Hastings Borough Council (not Sonrise Church) and Robin Holtman the, then, Chairman had made a statement that he intended for SOCO to leave St Mary in the Castle within a few months anyway. Prior to our moving into the building, an exhibition was held by the group and artwork using our child protection policy was displayed and put up for sale to the general public. We considered this work disturbing as images of a sexual nature had been superimposed over that information, even though one was of a fertility goddess from an old church building at Kilkenny.
It was also reported by the Observer at that time that Mr Saunders Rawlins called us Nazis because we complained, which we found most upsetting.He then claims that we do not pay rent to Hastings Borough Council. The church pays a monthly rent for the duration of the lease. The church and its running costs are not subsidised by the people of Hastings as he claims, however H.B.C make a small contribution to the restoration and ongoing maintenance of this grade 2 listed building, as landlords of the premises, which they then reclaim from us in the form of a monthly rent payment. Running costs and upkeep of the premises previously cost the people of Hastings over one hundred thousand pounds a year and therefore we have been are able to save the local taxpayer that sum.
Our business plan that was presented to the council, proposed that S.M.I.C would still be used as an arts venue with the addition of a café area as well as being made available for community use. We are currently seeing all three areas up and running and proving to be successful. Events have been well attended and, as Councillor Finch rightly said, we have seen approximately 12000 – 13000 in attendance with an estimated footfall of 20,000 by the end of our first year.90% of events held have been hired events from groups within the community and have not been of a Christian nature as suggested in the letter. A wide variety of entertainment has been enjoyed including opera, theatre, charity events, Jack in the Green and of course the recent Jazz evening with St Mary in the Castle and friends.
The Bishop Of Lewes the Rt Reverend Wallace Benn did indeed deliver a sermon last year in S.M.I.C as Mr Saunders Rawlins claimed, however the event was held by a local Anglican Church who hired the premises and not by Sonrise Church as he suggested.Mr Saunders Rawlins appears to have gathered his information from a number of sources but, unfortunately, also appears to have been misinformed and has been supplied with incorrect information.He then goes on to attack our Christian beliefs with the suggestion that we do not have the support of local Christians.
We would like to remind him that over twenty local Christian groups have given us their support; we are also members of the 'Evangelical Alliance' and part of the local 'Churches Together'.Part of our mission as a church is to work with the local community to bring regeneration and to help people find purpose and meaning in this life; we would ask, therefore, that we are now left alone to continue this important work in Hastings.
GLENN KHAN Senior Pastor, Sonrise Church
Published Date: 28 April 2008
By Julia Taylor - Hastings Observer
It was one of the most controversial decisions in 2007 - to allow the Sonrise Church to run St-Mary-in-the-Castle - and today the church pastors will be eagerly awaiting the local election results.
Because at the time of the controversy, Labour councillor Jay Kramer said if Labour got back into power they would remove Sonrise from the building, though this was later retracted by her fellow councillor Jeremy Birch. Glenn and Cathy Khan have been running the historic building for the last nine months, and the public opinion of the Born Again Christian church appears to have done an about-turn. Cathy, 42, said that people had mistaken their church for namesake right-wing homophobic churches in the US, and stressed that they had no associations with them.
Peter Finch, Hastings Borough councillor, has always backed Sonrise. This week he said that the church running St-Mary-in-the-Castle was saving the tax-payer £100,000 a year. He said: "If one recalls the controversy and disagreement prior to the lease being granted and the distinct lack of support from some quarters, Sonrise Church are doing an excellent job. "There are many varied public and non church uses of the building with an estimated attendance of 12,000 to 13,000 people."
With the church services limited to Sunday, the pastors spend the rest of the week business-managing and maintaining the performance space and cafe at St-Mary-in-the-Castle. "We're passionate about the building itself," Cathy, originally from Croydon, said. "And we're committed to seeing the building used by every group in the community." One group now making use of the space is Bourn4Art. Originally based at the Bourne Hall, the group were asked to leave when the Old Town Wesley Chapel was sold by owner Tony Smith from Brownbread Horse Rescue Centre in Battle.
Following a renovation of the hall after he purchased it in 1992, Tony no longer has the time to run it, and made the hard decision to let it go. But very soon after the 180 Bourn4Art artists found their work homeless, Cathy and Glenn from Sonrise stepped in. Bourn4Art organiser John Pearce said the group would still be keeping the name, despite the change of location, and have their first exhibition planned for June, as well as a permanent gallery. He said: "It's fantastic.
It's the best hanging space for open exhibitions between Dover and Brighton. It's internationally known. "It would be a great shame to see a gallery space like this with empty walls. "What I have found is, to get your work hung at a gallery is very expensive and cliquey.
I wanted to give all artists an opportunity to hang their work. "For the open gallery it's £2 per week per painting for a minimum of four weeks. All the work is for sale. "It's looking very promising." For more information about Bourn4Art call John on 07833 796323. For more information about the church go to www.sonrisechurch.co.uk.
.......................................................................................................................................................................
Reply from Martyn Saunders-Rawlins
Re: 'Evicted Bourne artists find new home, Hastings Observer, May 9:
THE above article reads like an advertisement for the church and is not as impartial as one would expect from a newspaper. There is no hint of irony in Sonrise Church offering a home to the Bourn4Art artists when their first action on gaining possession of St. Mary-in-the-Castle was to evict South Coast Artists (SoCo) simply because they felt that some of the art displayed by this pre-eminent group was considered 'unsuitable.'
In the original article it was suggested that the public opinion of Sonrise Church appears to have done an about-turn which is a misconception as the controversy surrounding the decision to give the lease to Sonrise Church continues unabated, with artists and other local residents actively boycotting any event that takes place at SMIC. We continue to object to Sonrise Church's occupancy of St. Mary-in-the-Castle for many reasons, one being that the lease awarded was on ridiculously favourable terms that disadvantage the council tax payers of Hastings.
Sonrise Church also receives an annual grant of £10,000 towards maintenance of the building and so effectively pays no rent at all. The people of Hastings are subsidising Sonrise Church.Cathy Khan is at pains to try to distance her church from "right-wing homophobic churches in the US", yet it was Sonrise Church which welcomed the Rt. Reverend Wallace Benn to SMIC last year to deliver a sermon.
Bishop Benn is one of the most controversial figures in the Church of England who not only staunchly opposes the ordination of women or homosexuals, but actively preaches against the acceptance of same-sex relationships.Many Christians as well as non-Christians find these exclusive beliefs quite unacceptable and abhor the fact that as council taxpayers our money is used to support them. Cllr Finch's estimation of an attendance of 12,000-13,000 must also be questioned.
Those of us who live near to SMIC and pass it every day and most evenings, are well aware that most of the time it is rather quiet and that not only do there seem to be fewer events held there but many of those that are of Christian nature and not of general appeal. Even the recent jazz supper organized by St. Mary-in-the-Castle Friends was poorly attended, mainly due to the boycott.
I wish John Pierce and the Bourn4Art artists every success at SMIC but feel that they should stop to consider what happened to SoCo and to ask why Pelham Arts, Sonrise Church's last arts initiative failed?
MARTYN SAUNDERS-RAWLINS The Croft
Replys
I FAIL to understand why your correspondent has got so concerned about Sonrise Church. I recently hired the venue for a large secular event and found them to be charming and helpful.
The venue was as good as ever, and with the Sonrise people on hand it was actually an easier event to run than those I have run in St. Marys in the past. I also fail to see why getting Wallace Benn who happens to be the Bishop of Lewes, in to give a talk is a problem.
Personally I do not agree with his views but he is the local Bishop not some odd guy from a long way off.I would say give Sonrise Church a chance to get St Marys working as a venue. They were really good to us and didn't seem to be in any way obstructive.
After all what we all want is to see the Arts thriving in this town and here is a venue that is working so let's use it.
KEITH LEECH Collier Road
I MUST correct Martyn Saunders-Rawlins' statement that the recent jazz supper organised by St Mary in the Castle Friends was "poorly attended". In fact, 200 or so people enjoyed an evening of fine music from Chris Hutchinson, Juliet Devereaux and friends and feedback from the event on April 19 has been overwhelmingly positive. We are hoping that all those who wish to see St Mary in the Castle take its rightful place in the life of Hastings will turn out for our next event on July 12 when Mike Hatchard and friends will be providing the entertainment at this magnificent venue.
CHRIS SHOREMAN Chairman St Mary in the Castle Friends
MR Saunders-Rawlins (Letters, May 30) is surely 'cutting off his nose to spite his face' by refusing to use St Mary-in-the-Castle and then complaining that it is not open enough to being used (when much effort has been put in to making it available to a wide range of groups). And he is entirely wrong to say that my friends at Sonrise Church 'evicted' SoCo Arts group, as their going was a Council decision before Sonrise gained access to the building.
However, my reason for writing is to set the record straight about my friend, Bishop Wallace Benn, who Mr. Saunders-Rawlins calls "controversial", maintaining that he opposes ordination for homosexuals and women and is against the acceptance of same-sex relationships. Wallace (who as Bishop of Lewes is Area Bishop for our town too) is in fact continuing the long-standing stance of the Church of England (and of the majority of Christian denominations), based upon the Bible, that the place for sexual activity is within marriage alone, because such activity is too precious to be squandered elsewhere.
It is surely those who seek to alter that established teaching who are "controversial". The Bishop has never said that homosexuals should not be ordained, nor that relationships between people of the same sex should not be deep and committed. What he has said, in accord with church teaching, is that all those who are unmarried (including those of a heterosexual orientation) should not be engaging in sexual intercourse.
Anyone who disobeys the biblical guidelines in that way (or any other) needs therefore to come for forgiveness to God, and should not be ordained while continuing in such error. While Wallace believes the Bible allows only men to lead churches (and he and I have an amicable disagreement about that), he has been scrupulously fair in accepting the opposite view within the Church of England, and has been a real support to those ordained women under his care.
Bishop Wallace is a delightful person, and a good friend to our town (having campaigned strongly against any closure of departments in our hospital, for example). It is unfair and untrue to give only the narrow view of him expressed in that letter.
REV. CHRIS KEY Rural Dean of Hastings & St Leonards
Our Reply
I WOULD like to bring some correction to a letter published in last week's Observer in regard to Sonrise Church and St Mary in the Castle. The letter was in response to us helping a local arts group 'Bourne4art' find a new home for their exhibitions at SMIC.
A number of points were made by Martyn Saunders Rawlins who is known as an expert in Russian Art with strong connections to Sotheby's and Bonhams (as reported in the Daily Telegraph). First he claims that, as new tenants of the building, our first action was to evict the previous tenants Soco arts group.
The truth is that their tenancy agreement was with Hastings Borough Council (not Sonrise Church) and Robin Holtman the, then, Chairman had made a statement that he intended for SOCO to leave St Mary in the Castle within a few months anyway. Prior to our moving into the building, an exhibition was held by the group and artwork using our child protection policy was displayed and put up for sale to the general public. We considered this work disturbing as images of a sexual nature had been superimposed over that information, even though one was of a fertility goddess from an old church building at Kilkenny.
It was also reported by the Observer at that time that Mr Saunders Rawlins called us Nazis because we complained, which we found most upsetting.He then claims that we do not pay rent to Hastings Borough Council. The church pays a monthly rent for the duration of the lease. The church and its running costs are not subsidised by the people of Hastings as he claims, however H.B.C make a small contribution to the restoration and ongoing maintenance of this grade 2 listed building, as landlords of the premises, which they then reclaim from us in the form of a monthly rent payment. Running costs and upkeep of the premises previously cost the people of Hastings over one hundred thousand pounds a year and therefore we have been are able to save the local taxpayer that sum.
Our business plan that was presented to the council, proposed that S.M.I.C would still be used as an arts venue with the addition of a café area as well as being made available for community use. We are currently seeing all three areas up and running and proving to be successful. Events have been well attended and, as Councillor Finch rightly said, we have seen approximately 12000 – 13000 in attendance with an estimated footfall of 20,000 by the end of our first year.90% of events held have been hired events from groups within the community and have not been of a Christian nature as suggested in the letter. A wide variety of entertainment has been enjoyed including opera, theatre, charity events, Jack in the Green and of course the recent Jazz evening with St Mary in the Castle and friends.
The Bishop Of Lewes the Rt Reverend Wallace Benn did indeed deliver a sermon last year in S.M.I.C as Mr Saunders Rawlins claimed, however the event was held by a local Anglican Church who hired the premises and not by Sonrise Church as he suggested.Mr Saunders Rawlins appears to have gathered his information from a number of sources but, unfortunately, also appears to have been misinformed and has been supplied with incorrect information.He then goes on to attack our Christian beliefs with the suggestion that we do not have the support of local Christians.
We would like to remind him that over twenty local Christian groups have given us their support; we are also members of the 'Evangelical Alliance' and part of the local 'Churches Together'.Part of our mission as a church is to work with the local community to bring regeneration and to help people find purpose and meaning in this life; we would ask, therefore, that we are now left alone to continue this important work in Hastings.
GLENN KHAN Senior Pastor, Sonrise Church
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)