THE future of church civic services are under threat for fear they might offend Macclesfield's handful of ethnic minority
groups.

They could be axed in favour of political correctness even though there has not been one single official complaint.

Bollington councillors are to vote on whether their annual gathering should be held elsewhere in the community instead of on consecrated ground. If the vote is carried it will mean a break with a tradition which dates back hundreds of years.

Deputy Mayor Shirley Socket claims that the annual solemn ritual with all its pomp and circumstance should be banned from churches because it could offend the ethnic minority! And she wants to rewrite the history books by changing an ancient standing order which decrees it should be held in a church. She has also pledged that if she is elected mayor next year she will swap St Oswald's which only seats 30 people and hold her formal ceremony in the Civic Hall which holds a healthier 200.
Currently local councils - parish and the borough - traditionally hold their soirees in local churches.

They are attended by civic dignitaries and representatives from local organisations who snap up the opportunity of sporting their formal chains of office for the occasion. But the decision Bollington makes over the issue could create a precedence for the rest of the borough - even though people from non-white ethnic backgrounds make up only two per cent of the population and 80pc of people in the Macclesfield district consider themselves Christian.

Civic services are traditionally held in local churches to celebrate a mayor's term in office and the Rector of Macclesfield, Canon John Briggs, could see no reason to change that.

"I would have thought that the most appropriate place to hold it would be a place of worship," he said. "We don't have a large ethnic population here, but we always try to welcome people and I am quite sure that not all the people who come to civic occasions like this are of the Christian faith, but they are still welcome. For example, quite often some Jewish people come and join us for these occasions here at St Michael's."

At least 100 people regularly attend the Bollington service - including representatives from the sea cadets, brass bands, scouts, guides and cubs. And although Bollington's ethnic population may make up a tiny fraction of the 6,980 people who live in the town, councillors felt those from non-white backgrounds must be included.

Coun Shirley Sockett said: "The church is Christian, yet the service has to be inclusive. We do have some people from ethnic backgrounds and the current policy is to be completely inclusive and exclusive wording is discouraged."

The current town mayor, Coun John Kershaw, said: "I personally would prefer it if we didn't bother with one at all because you're bound to offend somebody. I can see where Shirley is coming from with the ethnic minority viewpoint because, even though there aren't many in Bollington, we have got to note them."

But Bishop William Pwaisiho, of St James' Church in Gawsworth, felt that such a change would be unnecessary.

"We are always conscious of different religions and always plan things in a way that all people can be involved," he said. "I would be happy for Civic Services to continue being held in churches, particularly as we are more welcoming of different faiths now than ever before. It is always good to bring people to a church because it is a place of focus for people of all faiths in the community to worship."

The issue was raised at last week's Bollington Town Council meeting following concerns that their forthcoming Civic Service, on October 26, could turn into a "damp squib".

As this year's mayor is Protestant, the event must be held in the parish church and, following the closure of St John's, the only alternative in the town is the smaller church of St Oswald's.

Coun Kershaw said: "This time it's going to be a damp squib because it can't offer more than 30 places."

Coun Sockett added: "We ought to be looking forward to having a more inclusive situation for all members of the community. Our proposed new parish church can only take 30 visitors to these occasions and that is unacceptable."

Coun Graham Evans agreed that it was important to modernise certain aspects of the town council, and they decided to vote on the issue at their meeting on November 4.