Row breaks out around rules over leaving presents and flowers on gravestones
A row has broken out on social media over the rules around leaving flowers and presents on gravestones at a South Staffordshire church.
There have been arguments on a Facebook group following the release of a statement by churchwardens at St Chad's Church in Pattingham about churchyard regulations and memorials as a means of clarifying the position of the Diocese of Lichfield.
However, the chairman of the Pattingham Parochial Church Council has said that the issue has been blown out of all proportion and spoke about being sensitive to the needs of parishioners and not wanting to upset anyone.
The statement on the Pattingham Church Facebook page spoke about the regulations, which govern all churchyards associated with the Church of England and detailed the rules by the Diocese over what could and could not be left on memorials.
This included plastic flowers and wreaths around the time of Remembrance Day, Christmas and Easter, as well as balloons and portable items, as well detailing the inspections and surveys that would take place to ensure headstones are not a safety hazard and the graveyards are safe.
The statement has caused a wave of comments about the regulations, with lots of followers on the Facebook group Pattingham Today voicing their displeasure.
One person said that while they appreciated the statute behind it, they asked whether, given the closeness of the community, discretion might be applied.
They said: "If you are given advance notice of visits, then couldn’t people be given the option to remove things temporarily and replace once the inspection has been done?
"It must be uncomfortable for the church wardens to be removing items in such a close community where we know who will have been responsible for removing it.
"Majority of burial grounds apply discretion and/or offer a designated informal memorialisation area, if the decisions are to be enforced then could that be a consideration?"
