St Mary Magdalene's is beset by falling congregations and mounting costs.

Now a meeting has been called for 3pm on Sunday, May 18, in the church, to hear a two-part proposal which has been approved by the church councils of West Lavington and its sister parishes, Cocking and Bepton.

The first part proposes the dissolution of the ecclesiastical parish of West Lavington and the extension of Cocking parish to embrace it.

The second part relates to the Victorian Grade II listed building being declared redundant.

Services will cease and its care and future use will become the responsibility of Chichester diocese's committee for redundant churches.

But in a message to West Lavington parishioners, the priest in charge of all three parishes, Canon Colin Bradley, assures them the churchyard will remain open and will not in any way be affected by any future use of the church building.

The plight of St Mary Magdalene's, where there has been worship for nearly 160 years, was brought into the spotlight a year ago when it became apparent a minimum of £80,000 needed to be spent on the building.

Canon Bradley said then that congregations had fallen to the low teens 'on a good day' and to do all the building needed would cost many tens of thousands of pounds.

The church council had faced reality and taken a courageous step, asking for a plan to be drawn up for the future of the church.

The proposal to declare it redundant involves referral to the Church Commissioners. When they issue a formal notice, there will be a six-week statutory period for consultation. The earliest that closure could be implemented is late summer.

Loss of its church will mean a double blow for West Lavington. Its village school, where pupil numbers have also fallen to the low teens, is due to close at the end of the summer term.

Canon Bradley has told parishioners he will write further in the parish magazine about the sister churches at Cocking and Bepton, so churchgoers from the village will be able to make an informed choice about where to transfer their allegiance.