CHURCHGOERS in Abercarn are being urged to attend a public meeting tonight that could help decide the fate of the village's last remaining place of worship.

The meeting, at 7pm at St Luke's Church, Abercarn, will gauge support in Abercarn for its Welsh Church, which faces an uncertain future due to the imminent end of a sharing agreement.

St Luke's, built in 1853, is owned by the Presbyterian Church of Wales, but since the 1980s has been used by the Church in Wales.

That sharing agreement comes to an end next February however, and the Church in Wales has been offered a lease on the building.

But St Luke's, as the Argus reported in April, needs considerable investment, having endured the twin hardships of vandalism and the rigours of time.

"The Church in Wales has stated that it is reluctant to take on responsibility for an additional church building which is in need of significant repair and decoration," said the Reverend Alicia Baker, priest-in-charge of the benefice of Abercarn and Cwmcarn.

"We're in a difficult position. We can't raise funds for the repairs because we don't know if we are able to continue to use the building. And it seems we can no longer use the building because it needs significant repair.

"We have until February to show that not only can we maintain and repair it, but that we have the long-term backing of the community in raising the necessary funds to do so.

"As a congregation we also need to show we have a significant role in the community of Abercarn and are worth supporting in our bid to continue to use this building for our worship."

If St Luke's were to close, worshippers' next nearest church is in neighbouring Cwmcarn.