St Bartholomew's Church, Elvaston

St Bartholomew's Church at Elvaston in Derbyshire strikes one as rather grand, with its tall tower casting a shadow over the very close Elvaston Castle. Within lie the buried remains of several Earls of Harrington. Yet, sadly, it manages but one service a month from only March to October, and none thereafter. Services employ the 1662 Book of Common Prayer which indicates either an inert conservatism or, more likely, a depth of faith, the sparsity of services the result of over-stretched clergy rather than parochial indolence.

It seems sadly ironic that a church which stands so tall should have so little to offer. Ours might be a modest chapel, but we manage to meet several times each week. Worthier still are those foreign congregations which meet in secret and in homes to avoid arrest and prosecution. Their ecclesiastical buildings are nonexistent, but their congregants stand tall enough in their Lord’s esteem.

The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2

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