As the busking cleric' reported in your paper (Oxford Mail, May 16), can I first thank the good people of Oxford for helping us raise £356 for Christian Aid?

Then can I scotch a rumour that our church, opposite Cowley Police Station, is closing?

These rumours started some years ago after your paper referred to our building as the "former United Reformed Church at Temple Cowley" - possibly because, at the time, the church hall on the neighbouring site (which was no longer ours, since we'd sold it) had fallen into decay.

At first, these obituaries were mildly amusing. Now they have become increasingly irritating, and in the last week alone, we've heard two separate reports of this fact' from complete strangers!

It has started unsettling some regular users of our building.

Far from closing, the building is in constant use, a new Emmaus Community house is rising from its foundations next door (as you reported, it was opened by Terry Waite in March), and we have exciting development plans.

There are always doom-mongers' who gloomily seize on any rumour that shows the good old days' have passed.

Others think Christianity is a redundant hypothesis' and hope to see all churches closed.

My apologies to these people for having to break the news that the Christian Church in Britain is in good heart - across the board, from Evangelical, to liberal, to Catholic.

In Cowley, the number of congregations has doubled in five years. The reason? The challenge and promise of the gospel of Jesus which, despite a thousand variations, distortions and misrepresentations, still has the power to pull individuals and society back on track.

Readers can look in our 'shop window' and see what we're up to at www.urctemplecowley.org.uk DICK WOLFF (the Rev) Cowley Oxford