A dispute has arisen between a Christian charity and the Church in Wales over the use of a church building.
The Parish Trust was founded in 2019 by Rev Dean Aaron Roberts, Rector of the Parish of Bedwas, in Caerphilly, and has been based at St Thomas Church, Trethomas.
The charity exists to help churches respond to community needs and supported thousands of people during the Covid lockdowns.
The trust claims it was led to believe that the Church in Wales would sell the building to it and it has spent over £50,000 on improvements to the church. Now, however, the charity says the Church in Wales has approached trustees with proposed tenancy agreements instead.
The Parish Trust has refused to enter into a tenancy agreement with the Church in Wales and has instead begun the search for a new property to serve as its base, but it said it fears being evicted from St Thomas before it has found new accommodation as this would negatively affect its charitable activities in the community.
Rev Roberts has accused the Church in Wales of demonstrating a "difficult attitude" and "hostility" towards the charity.
"From the beginning, The Parish Trust has always been in favour of working with churches to help them make a difference in their communities, and the Church in Wales is no exception," he said.
"Because of my link with the Church in Wales, we naively thought that it would be only too glad to tangibly support the charity, given its recent focus on helping the vulnerable in the community.
"For a long time, we had every hope that the Church in Wales would see this opportunity for what it was and sell us the building."
Diane Brierley, Chair of the Parish Trust, said that the charity has requested a grace period from the Church in Wales while it seeks alternative premises.
"We remain committed to working with the CinW to find a solution that reflects the Christian values which we both hold, and which will demonstrate this partnership for the gospel in the communities," she said.
In response, a spokesperson for the Church in Wales said, "The Church in Wales is committed to finding a way forward that is agreeable to both the Parish Trust and the Church in Wales.
"The Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann wrote to the trustees of the Parish Trust on 14 September 2023 proposing further meetings in the hope of finalising an agreement for the use of St Thomas's Church by the Trust while it looks for new premises.
"We acknowledge that the Parish Trust does tremendous work to support people in the area it serves and we hope that will continue for many years.
"Our sincere desire is to find an amicable agreement that suits all parties."
