“The old parishes are mostly real communities, and the whole parish still often has a strong sense of connection with the parish church, reflected in the high rate of occasional offices proportionate to the population. Those links are invaluable and should be preserved. Most old parishes want traditional clergy-led worship. There are many who occasionally attend services in their parish church, but who would not travel to a neighbouring church. Parish reorganisations that break up rural benefices and annex village churches to town parishes (there is currently one such in the Staffordshire Wolds) are misconceived, and further weaken the already fragile links between Church and society.”