Village in turmoil after ousted vicar insists he is being ‘guided by the Holy Spirit’ and won’t quit despite unanimous vote – as even the choir are ‘not singing at the moment’
- Farther Oliver Learmont has refused to leave his job after five years of service
- The vicar claims to be guided by the Holy Spirit after being ousted by the council
A village is in turmoil after its local vicar refused to step down after being voted out of his job – while claiming to be guided by the ‘Holy Spirit’.
Father Oliver Learmont of St Mary the Virgin Church in Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire, was ousted by his local parish council in a unanimous vote after five years of service.
The village choir have now stopped singing after the vicar was pushed out over claims the centuries-old church has ‘drifted and declined’ under his watch.
Parishioners say improvement projects, including restoring the 18th century church organ pipes, have been brought to a grinding halt since he took the job.
Father Learmont is, however, defying the parish council’s orders while claiming he is being ‘guided by the Holy Spirit’ in refusing to give up his position.
Father Oliver Learmont (pictured) of St Mary the Virgin Church in Wiltshire is refusing to step down from his job after being ousted by the Parish Council
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The church choir has put singing ‘on a pause’, and the Parochial Church Council’s treasurer and secretary decided not to stand for re-election.
In the latest blow, St Mary’s last remaining church warden, Michael Moore, 60, has also said he will step down after 20 years.
Moore wrote to Father Learmont on December 31 last year warning that unless the he left, he would step down as church warden. As of May 30 had received no reply.
He wrote: ‘If I have received a written assurance from you by June 13 2023 that you are intending to move on from the parish within a year, I will continue to offer you my support until July 2024.
‘Furthermore, if I have received a written assurance from you before the 2023 APCM (annual parish council meeting) that you are intending to move on from the parish I will extend my offer of support up to advent 2024.
‘If, however, I have not received a written assurance from you by the June 13 2023 that you are intending to move on from the parish within a year, I will then be obliged to cease my support at the end of June 2023.’
At a meeting of the Parish Council on May 30, Father Learmont said he ‘does not respond to ultimatums’ before a unanimous vote of no confidence of 41 people.
Father Learmont said: ‘I don’t really have a comment. Nobody has resigned from the PCC. The organist retired but we do have an organist in place. There is a choir but it is not singing at the moment.’
The vicar has refused to leave his job at St Mary the Virgin Church (pictured) in Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire
Lord Geddes, chairman of the St Mary’s Preservation Trust, asked whether Father Oliver was getting a message from the meeting to which he replied, ‘I am listening’.
The parishioner added: ‘Father Oliver was keen to move on to the agenda on the paper but was reminded that he had had an overwhelming vote of ‘no confidence’ which he should address.
‘Father Oliver replied that he would not and that if anyone didn’t like it, they could leave.
‘At this point there was a general exodus that was briefly halted by a clearly shocked Rural Dean who tried to steady matters. To no avail.
‘Most people left the church to have the meeting continue with a bare bones PCC committee.’
Lynda Beaven, one of St Mary’s bellringers, said: ‘Last night the vicar said that he would not respond to an ultimatum, but he would be guided by the Holy Spirit.
‘From the show of hands supporting the long-suffering churchwarden and the same hands showing no confidence in the vicar, I would hope that it will not be long before the Holy Spirit gets the message and starts guiding the vicar.
‘The message could not have been clearer last night.’
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Salisbury said: ‘We continue to offer pastoral support for Steeple Ashton and its vicar, as with all of our parish churches across the Diocese of Salisbury.’
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