Rector’s Daily Reflections
Friday 16th February 2024
The Future of our Church Buildings
Yesterday, I shared some thoughts on the idea that the future sustainability of our church buildings lies in increased community use. This might well be the answer in some urban and suburban contexts, but the financial realities mean that it is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on the future of churches in villages and hamlets.
The mention of financial realities leads us nicely into the report’s third suggestion. At the end of the day, the future sustainability of our church buildings depends heavily on finding the money to do the necessary repairs and improvements. Where can this money come from? It is unrealistic to expect it to come from the congregations themselves: many congregations are shrinking in size, and it is hard enough for them to meet existing obligations, let alone to find additional income to cover expenses relating to the building. And there is a further question relating to Christian stewardship, which I fear is not asked as often as it should be. Is it always appropriate for a small congregation of say a dozen to be spending time and effort to raise say £100,000 to repair their leaking roof? Is this really a good use of time and money? The answer to this question will depend on the particular circumstances, but it is a question which needs to be asked.
The report’s approach is to say that the necessary money has got to come from elsewhere: from the public purse. It recommends additional ringfenced annual public funding of £50 million to go towards the cost of major repairs. The report also suggests a national matched funding scheme in the hope that this will help incentivise charitable donations and private philanthropy.
Three cheers to the authors of this report for having the courage to face the hard financial realities: the churches themselves simply do not have the money to fund all the necessary maintenance and repairs. Church buildings are a public asset and society at large benefits from them: indeed, it has been estimated that the social and economic value provided to the UK by church buildings is at least £55 billion a year (yes, £55 billion!) Society as a whole benefits from the church buildings within their midst, so society as a whole should help to pay for their upkeep – and the easiest and fairest way for society to make its financial contribution is through the State. I wonder if you would agree with this line of thinking? And is it at all realistic to expect the Government to commit to an additional £50 million of public expenditure? Or is this simply a visit to cloud-cuckoo land?
Rector’s Daily Reflections Friday 16th February 2024
The Future of our Church Buildings
Yesterday, I shared some thoughts on the idea that the future sustainability of our church buildings lies in increased community use. This might well be the answer in some urban and suburban contexts, but the financial realities mean that it is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on the future of churches in villages and hamlets.
The mention of financial realities leads us nicely into the report’s third suggestion. At the end of the day, the future sustainability of our church buildings depends heavily on finding the money to do the necessary repairs and improvements. Where can this money come from? It is unrealistic to expect it to come from the congregations themselves: many congregations are shrinking in size, and it is hard enough for them to meet existing obligations, let alone to find additional income to cover expenses relating to the building. And there is a further question relating to Christian stewardship, which I fear is not asked as often as it should be. Is it always appropriate for a small congregation of say a dozen to be spending time and effort to raise say £100,000 to repair their leaking roof? Is this really a good use of time and money? The answer to this question will depend on the particular circumstances, but it is a question which needs to be asked.
The report’s approach is to say that the necessary money has got to come from elsewhere: from the public purse. It recommends additional ringfenced annual public funding of £50 million to go towards the cost of major repairs. The report also suggests a national matched funding scheme in the hope that this will help incentivise charitable donations and private philanthropy.
Three cheers to the authors of this report for having the courage to face the hard financial realities: the churches themselves simply do not have the money to fund all the necessary maintenance and repairs. Church buildings are a public asset and society at large benefits from them: indeed, it has been estimated that the social and economic value provided to the UK by church buildings is at least £55 billion a year (yes, £55 billion!) Society as a whole benefits from the church buildings within their midst, so society as a whole should help to pay for their upkeep – and the easiest and fairest way for society to make its financial contribution is through the State. I wonder if you would agree with this line of thinking? And is it at all realistic to expect the Government to commit to an additional £50 million of public expenditure? Or is this simply a visit to cloud-cuckoo land?