A FINAL service at a doomed Accrington church was called off because it would have been too upsetting for parishioners.
St John's Church was closed after the discovery of electrical defects that would cost £20,000 to repair.
Members of the community have been up in arms over the controversial decision as the church also houses the Accrington Pals Memorial Chapel.
But in a letter to the Observer, the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev John Goddard, said the true cost of repairs to restore the church to its former state would be in excess of £300,000.
A farewell service was scheduled for last Saturday but the secretary of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), Helen Barrett, said it quite simply would have been too emotional.
Instead, an open day has been planned for Saturday 11 August between 10am and noon to give members of the public the opportunity to have a last look around the grand building in Addison Street.
Mrs Barrett said: "The service would have been too sad an occasion so we decided not to hold it. People will be able to come into the church on 11 August and take photographs if they wish. They do, however, enter the church at their own risk because there is now no insurance cover for the building.
"It will be an emotional experience for everybody that day. It will be a moment in history.
"Once everyone has left the building, it will be boarded up and that will be very distressing to see. But as long as that church stands, some of us will never give up trying to save it."
The PCC held a meeting last week to discuss the future of the building but the vicar, the Rev Ian Robertson, closed the debate at 10pm, at which point no decision had been made.
The PCC will not meet again until 5 September.
