The Way Forward for Church Buildings

 

Church buildings and cathedrals play a major part in supporting the whole community, and are an immeasurably significant part of the environment, landscape and heritage of the country, but very few have paid staff beyond the clergy. Most, including the vast majority of parish churches, depend very heavily on the great commitment and enthusiasm within the members of the congregation to maintain the building and carry on a tremendous range of activities which benefit the community as a whole. Very often this contribution which church buildings make to our national life is understated - or taken for granted. There is much here to celebrate: but also a need for further support and partnership.

The Church Heritage Forum, chaired by the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, brings together representatives of national and local church interests in matters relating to the Church's built heritage.  The Forum is currently engaged on developing and implementing a strategy for the future of church buildings.

Introduction to the Strategy: Setting the Scene

More than 37 million people in England - 72% of the population - declared themselves Christian in an optional question in the 2001 census. Most of these do not attend worship - but nearly two million people regularly attend Church of England services, at least once a month. The Church of England and its buildings matter to many more, whether occasional worshippers or nonworshippers who nevertheless feel linked to the Church, or respect what it stands for. Uniquely among religious groups, the Church of England provides every person in this country, Christian or not, with a church building where worship is offered and the services of a minister. It is there for them, wherever they live - from the inner cities to the most rural settlement. The Church of England, its people and its buildings, remain a defining thread within the fabric of our national life.

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The Church and its people reach out ceaselessly to the whole community:

• by proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel;

• by living the Gospel through social, cultural or educational work, often in partnership with private, voluntary, charitable and public sectors;

• by providing a local voice, local network, and local leaders, both paid and voluntary;

• by underpinning the work of social cohesion and community enrichment;

• in regeneration work with inner city and rural communities alike;

• as part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, by supporting and enabling multicultural and interfaith endeavours.

Church buildings form the springboard and hub of all this activity and much more besides.

• all churches in use, of whatever age and architectural merit, are places where people can meet and worship;

• nearly all serve as centres for community and social service, cultural and educational activity.

Very many are buildings of special architectural and historic importance. These also serve:

• as focal points within their communities, through their very presence in the landscape or townscape;

• as a physical expression of the poetic longings within the human soul;

• to embody the nation's history and collective memory, through their memorials and churchyards;

• as a treasury of our national and cultural inheritance;

• as catalysts for wider economics benefits to their communities, through tourism, regeneration initiatives, and by stimulating the skills required to maintain them.

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But, while being assets, they impose costs and challenges:

• most of these buildings of national importance are cared for and managed by local people;

• the wider benefit to the nation and community is met substantially by voluntary contributions and voluntary effort;

• the welcome public contribution through repair grants and a temporary VAT grant scheme is small compared to the total cost.

The Church cannot maintain this inheritance alone. It is potentially at risk, Never before has there been so much interest in the living heritage of the past. But never before has there been so much past to manage. The Church accepts its share of responsibility to care for the buildings which it needs, and is conscious of their contribution to the nation: we recognise, also, that the best way to look after a building is to make sure that it is used. Through care and devotion, as well as much help from grants, many churches with small congregations have kept their buildings in good repair and open. But the Church

• needs more help to support and enable its wider work for the nation;

• cannot keep buildings in use for regular worship solely for their heritage merit.

Our objective, and our commitment is:

• to use our church buildings to reach out to the community;

• to grasp the challenges of enabling each building to fulfil its potential for wider use;

• to secure the resources to enable them to do so; and

• to foster partnerships taking account of the contribution which these buildings make to the community and the nation.

We invite the Government - national, regional and local - and other public agencies to share with us as partners in this process.

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Progress on the Strategy so far

A Future for Church Buildings

In 2003, the Forum produced a report, A Future for Church Buildings (GS1514), which was debated in General Synod in July 2003, where it was supported by 262 votes to 2.  Following the debate, the Forum initiated a programme of research and consultations.  We established regular links with representatives of Government Departments and others responsible for different aspects of the environment.  We also held several working seminars, pulling together participants inside and outside the church to brainstorm the way forward on topics such as maintenance, new and extended uses, tourism, working with regional partners, cathedrals, urban and rural issues and education.  With English Heritage, we also commissioned an opinion research poll about the public's attitudes to church buildings, which has unlocked some very powerful figures.

Building faith in our future

On 18 October 2004, the Forum launched Building faith in our future, a report drawing together the findings of the research and consultation programme and making a range of recommendations for Church, State and other bodies under several themes:

• Seeking new funding partnerships.

• Developing greater understanding of the contribution which church buildings make to society.

• Developing strategic approaches and collaboration.

• Seeking to ensure that the legal framework is responsive and effective, allowing church buildings to grow and adapt while also ensuring proper care and conservation.

• Enabling and supporting all those involved in the care of church buildings, through advice and training.

The report seeks to stimulate debate on how we can best sustain the astonishing achievement of tens of thousands of volunteers, mostly from within the Church but many from outside, in caring for buildings which make a unique contribution to community identity and culture.  It offers a picture of how church buildings, as well as being places of worship, serve their communities, e.g. as centres of eduction or contribute to the local economy as centres of tourism.

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© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2004

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