When news of the proposals broke, my churchwarden at Horsey was phoned by a National Church newspaper and asked if there were any plans to re-locate our ancient and historic church to another site if the flooding proposal became the chosen option.

 

The fact that a family home can be valued at £1 because it is no longer considered marketable must be devastating for the family that have lived there for 21 years, and their concern is surely shared by many whose homes are under similar threat. The whole issue poses the question about the morals or ethics of a society that can place such values on homes in terms of future marketable value with no regard for the feelings or emotions of the individuals concerned, seemingly with little concern for realistic compensation, and with no consideration at all for the value of the communities that would be destroyed.

 

Such lack of awareness and concern is the type of thinking that leads to openness to the idea of re-locating a church building – as if the stones and mortar of Horsey church, (or any other church), could be removed from its community and historical roots and still exist as Horsey Church!

 

Homes are not just houses that can be priced in terms of their marketable value, they mean so much more to the families concerned, just as those families, collectively, mean so much when together they exist as communities. Churches, pubs, post offices, village halls and other amenities and services similarly combine to define what we understand as community life.

 

Caring about people and valuing the notion of community should be an area of concern not just for Christians, but for everyone. In a world where homes can tend to be priced rather than valued, crucial amenities like Post Offices, and communities themselves and all they stand for can be considered dispensable, maybe we should all reflect on Oscar Wilde’s words, and ask ourselves what price, or value, we place on our communities. Maybe we should also consider where we stand on the important issues affecting many individuals in our own and neighbouring communities, and then perhaps we should seek to express our views to those who are involved in the decision making processes.