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How
Many Churches Can We Afford? |
Two weeks ago I had a wonderful
telephone call from my training Vicar, John Jacob, who
although 83 always remembers to telephone me on my
birthday. After 34 years John still remembers the time we
had together in Sheffield in one of the poorest parishes in
Britain. He taught me to care for the entire parish and not
just the church congregation or the church building. As the
first Group of Parishes to be created in the C of E, the
Manor Group of Parishes had numerous visitors to see how
pastoral care operated in an urban environment. Whilst
others were writing about urban parish life, we were
actually totally involved. John taught me how to use a
church building. His actions shocked many of his
congregation, as a once hallowed building was used for
meetings and clubs throughout the week and even for a lively
youth club run by the curate and his wife to be!
This experience has never left
me. Coming to Fakenham I found a church locked throughout
the week open only on a Sundays and Thursday Market Days.
The first action I undertook was to take away the chain lock
on the wrought iron gates and throw the doors of the church
open and we have never looked back. The church is now used
most days of the week for a variety of activities from a
weekly Pram Service to Book Fayres and Craft Markets. Every
Thursday hundreds of people arrive for refreshments on
Market Day and the church benefits in all ways from this
activity. However as with St Aidan’s Church in Sheffield
there is always a quiet area in church where people can
pray. The church remains a place of worship at the centre of
the community.
Often people visit Fakenham
Parish Church with tales of despair and depression about
their church buildings. I have heard that congregations are
aging; congregations are declining and the cost of the
church is too great for the small congregation to bear. I
believe that if we look back at the life of Christ we see a
person who was interested in people and not in buildings and
so often we worship the buildings and forget the pastoral
care of the people.
If the Church of England is
going to survive in the future it must select those
buildings which are easy to adapt, are in the right places
and which actually have a pastoral reason to exist. In a
Diocese with over 600 Churches, many of them Grade 1 listed
buildings, it is going to be totally impossible for all
these buildings to survive.
So I would encourage all
churches to look at how they can be used and adapted. In my
ministry I have seen church buildings used to house post
offices, drop in centres, for elections, for Parish Council
Meetings, luncheon clubs, walker’s visitor centre, museums,
youth centres, coffee shops, sports centres, play groups,
stained glass window studios, arts studios, and I could go
on.
In the future I do not believe
that the funds will be available to maintain every church
building in the Church of England. We must be selective and
then earmark funds to support those churches which will be
effective for the ministry in the 21stcentury.
Maintaining all church buildings will simply weaken those
which are viable.
Adrian Bell
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