The Smell of Water Has been on a church finding trip in East Yorkshire - Seeking the Romanesque in East Yorkshire. He draws attention to the fact that all three churches were shut and they are no longer places for the public. Facts and figures show that the Church of England is worth 10B£. At some stage the Church has to acknowledge that people will not return to the faith and that some sort of future has to be found for these beautiful buildings.
Simon Jenkins in an article in the Guardian proposes a sensible solution. Give these churches back to the parish councils to open up as venues for other uses.
There are many problems with the buildings, one of course is the coldness in winter and inadequate heating. Another is loos and water for teas and coffees but such minor problems can be overcome and many churches have been turned into different venues over time.
I suspect that it is mostly down to money and getting people to agree to certain conditions. The Church of England is sitting on a pretty big chunk of money, there must surely be some relaxation for helping to modify the churches into a public space for the use of the public and not this hopeful approach of how everyone will eventually leave their secular natures behind and once more turn back to Christianity and the church.
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| Ivy growing in a church in Essex |
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| St. Marys in Mundon Essex St Marys is closed and under the care of 'Friends of Friendless Churches. |
It's certainly a dilemma. In the last twenty years, I have visited hundreds of rural churches and it is so terribly sad when you see a notice on a church that it is effectively closed forever. Trouble is that the "God" of Christianity was always just a myth and "The Bible" was written by creative humans who simply made the whole thing up. This is not a firm basis for religious belief or church attendance
ReplyDeleteI agree that if the buildings are usable then they should be used!
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