UNLIKE the Church of England, whose leaders serve a life sentence with time off only for bad behaviour, the President of the Methodist Conference spends just a year in office. The system is said to have been a reaction to John Wesley's bossiness. Dr Neil Richardson, Methodism's present head lad, was explaining it to the Archbishop of Canterbury during one or other of the Anglican communion's recent crises.

"I have to say that Rowan Williams looked quite envious," he told his congregation at Crook last Sunday.

It was a Mothering Sunday service for the six churches in the Crook Methodist circuit - Crook itself, Howden-le-Wear, North Bitchburn, Sunnybrow, Willington and the lovely folk of Wooley Terrace, up on Stanley Hill Top. From tomorrow there'll only be five.

With a usual attendance of four or five and facing an estimated repair bill of £80,000, North Bitchburn chapel holds its final service at 2.30pm. The faithful few, it has to be said, are apparently not best pleased about it. Last Sunday was an indisputably happier occasion, women folk presented with daffodils and the rest a pretty jolly bunch as well.

Just behind the market place, Crook church is a listed building recently refurbished, a splendid, traditional, balconied place where the organist perches half way to heaven. As also is traditional, the front pews are filled last - as if a "Wet paint" sign hangs there and delay might dry things a little.

Local Church of England and URC members are there, too - if not the mother of all congregations, a good turn-out, nonetheless - the column by happenstance seated beside Helen Cannam, who lives a couple of miles away and writes the Echo's Gran at Large column. Like policemen, grandmas have started to look fearfully young these days.

The Rev Tom Wilkinson, the local minister, appears in lounge suit - we'd last seen him in a kilt but that's another story - Dr Richardson wears purple cassock, vivid preaching scarf and carries a couple of books.

As usual on such incorrigible occasions, we are reminded of the verse attributed to Samuel Wilberforce, third son of the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce, who despite himself becoming Bishop of Oxford and then of Winchester was known, doubtless unfairly, as Soapy Sam:

If I were a cassowary

On the plains of Timbuktoo

I would eat a missionary

Cassock, bands and hymn book, too.

Dr Richardson is also a long distance runner and looks it, more meat on a Mothers' Union sandwich. On April, sponsored for Christian Aid's work in Sierra Leone - "probably the poorest country in the world" - he becomes the first British church leader to run the London Marathon while in office.

Since the presidential year takes him all over Britain, training has been a bit of a problem. In Guernsey, he ran so far in one direction that he had to hitch a lift back again.

At Crook he dedicates a new sound system, watches the bairns getting tongue-tied - mum's the word - over their special day greetings, recalls some children's prayers he once heard.

"Dear God, I kept my part of the deal, now where's the bike....?"; "Dear God, if I were you I wouldn't be half as good at it, so keep it up."

Crook says its own prayers for mothers - "especially single mothers" - addresses the offertory to Sierra Leone and to God "the mother and father of us all", sings (among much else) Let There be Love.

Afterwards in the vestry we talk to Dr Richardson and to the Rev Graham Carter, chairman of the Darlington Methodist District, about the number of village chapels compelled to close - another two, at Raskelf and Grewelthorpe in North Yorkshire, this month.

They agree that it is the Church, not necessarily the church, which is important. "We shouldn't see a church closure as a sign of failure but as a sign of moving on," says Mr Carter.

"People say they are unwilling to travel but the Methodists have always been a travelling church - John Wesley and his people travelled hundreds of miles before we had public transport.

"Some of our buildings are poor advertisements for the Church. They are dilapidated, unwelcoming places which don't present the gospel message as it ought to be heard. If they aren't welcoming, then we ought to get rid of them.

"Sometimes it's about taking the church where you have neighbours, which may be your front room."

Dr Richardson, much on the move himself, suggests that they need to look at areas where the church is under-represented rather than where there is another village chapel a couple of miles away.

"I would want to say that wherever a church is needed we should try to keep it, but premises aren't essential to retain a Christian presence."

More will have to close, they agree, but then the President has himself to be off and running to engagements elsewhere. Methodism's baton is handed on in June.

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