THE Parochial Parish Council in Germansweek is taking a radical step in asking every member of the community, regardless of age or denomination, what they want from the church in a bid to move with the times.

The retirement of team vicar the Rev Ray Voden and the departure of a number of long-term members, including John Cashmore the treasurer, has meant the need for new faces and the opportunity to look at how the Parish Church of St

German works in

Germansweek.

These events have co-incided with changes in the Church of England, population changes in the last ten years which have significantly altered the profile of residents and the new Order of Common Worship designed to meet the needs of the 21st Century.

The PCC felt it was an appropriate time to review the role of the church in the village in the context of the need of the community and as a first step in this exercise a questionnaire has been sent to everybody on the electoral roll.

Churchwarden Ros Jones said: 'It is not possible for everyone who would like to come to church regularly to do so but many people like to have an historic building like a church as the centre of their village. The questionnaire probes the ways in which they would like to participate.

'We want to make sure that anything we decide to do is in line with what people want, whether they are churchgoers or not.'

The despatch of the questionnaire coincided with the patronal festival in the parish church last week when a well attended service remembered St Germain, its patron saint.

St Germain came to Britain in 429 AD and again around 443 when he is reported to have visited Germansweek. He was ascetic of the old school, wearing his clothes until they fell to pieces, sleeping rough and taking a taste of ashes before each meal. The church that replaced the original Celtic cross was built in stone not long after the Norman Conquest.

A third of the population of the village have responded to the questionnaire and it is hoped the rest will follow suit.