This may seem a little off-topic for the liturical list but I hope it might
find some of the correct people.

A question of dedication ?

I am English and so, perhaps, a strange person to post such an article.
However I feel very strongly about the subject and feel others should also
be stirred into action.

In Britain and Ireland we have a truly ancient and varied selection of
ethnic groups and cultures; something often taken for granted. However, it
seems to me that English are, more than any other group, ignorant of their
heritage and history. Even worse, I feel that we are actively disinterested
in it. Perhaps our greed for money provides an over-riding distraction.

My main interests concern the ancient history of these Islands and the
cultural and traditional remains that are left to us. Over the past few year
I have given some special consideration to the customs and traditions of
Cornwall, a place of which I am very fond. Unfortunately, no end of  wishful
thinking would make me a Cornishman. However, I can wonder and object to
something I view as cultural vandalism, perhaps unintentional, perhaps
institutionalised, but a crying shame all the same.

Thirteen centuries ago, in the dying years of Roman rule, a Christian
community found itself being crushed between the sea in the West and the
dreadful onslaught in the East of the savage Saxon hordes that hated them.
It is strange to think of a time, before the dark centuries of the early
medieval  period, that knew culture and civilisation as we would understand
it. A civilisation for whom the rule of law and order meant the difference
between being a Citizen and a savage barbarian.

In those pre-Augustinian years small groups of missionaries travelled the
dangerous tracts of water along the western seas of Britain and France,
bringing Christianity to the beleaguered peoples of Scotland, Wales,
Cornwall, Ireland and Brittany. So great was their effect that they left
their mark in the place names of the far West; St Austell, St Mawes, St
Agnes, St Ives, St Just and a little place called Marhamchurch.
My attention was first drawn to Marhamchurch because of a recent traditional
revival, the Marhamchurch Revel. They hold an annual celebration of Saint
Marwenne, a Celtic Saint who brought Christianity to the village some time
during the Sixth Century. Her effect upon the community has been remembered
over 13 centuries.
With any of these Celtic Saints it is very difficult to separate fact from
fiction but legend and tradition are strong in her case. It is said that she
was the daughter of King Brychan of Brecknock in the sixth century and
numbered one amongst many of his off spring. Like many of the Cornish towns
they remember her name today...... in the better known places.

One of her siblings, so legends claims, was Saint Morwenna, and she too was
a missionary bringing the Christian faith to a small community not far from
Bude. Morwenstow, or Morwennas Holy Place, is her community and the focus of
my complaint.

I must state here that I have no complaint about the part of the present
incumbent of the parish, but I feel we it is our institutions that are to
blame for a grave piece of cultural vandalism.

It was here at Morwenstow in 1843 that the Revd Hawker formulated a special
service to replace the robust and coarse Harvest Home festivities; the
Harvest Festival. Nowadays his format is Universal and can be seen
throughout the British Isles. Revd Hawker was a staunch pro-Cornish
churchman and did much to promote the Cornish identity and it is he that
wrote 'Trelawny' which has now become Cornwalls national anthem. That this
is the site of his parish makes my complaint all the more sad.

The title of my e-mail is a Question of Dedication, and that is the heart of
the matter. The church of Saint Morwenstow is the spiritual centre of her
community which has lasted since the dark ages and is inextricably linked
with the Cornish Celtic identity. So, is the church dedicated to Saint
Morwenstow, no it is not....any longer.

The dedication of the current church is to Saint John the Baptist, a recent
and perhaps meaningless dedication under the circumstances. Its original
dedication to Saint Morwenstow was in existence up to 1898 in the Clerical
Directory and to 1905 in the Clerical Lists whilst even maps from 1963 show
a dual dedication. Nowadays however, Saint Morwenna church is no longer, it
is simply Saint John the Baptist. One piece of Cornwalls history and culture
(and our too as we all share the Island) bites the dust.

Whilst fashionable tourist attractions with cultural links abound, such as
the re-enactment of the prayer book rebellion, we allow the real features to
slowly dissolve into the history books.

I end my little sermon with a rally call. Restore Saint Morwennas dedication
to her church and beware of other similar infringements of our cultural
heritage. Yes, even though I am English, I consider it mine as well.



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