Sunday-Only Churches Urged to Stay Open
Churches should leave their doors open throughout the week, making use of their facilities for more than just Sunday worship, the Archbishop of Wales says.
Dr. Barry Morgan is scheduled to speak to church delegates Monday at the Transforming Communities and Congregations conference in Llandudno, North Wales, to encourage them to "think creatively" about how their buildings are used.
"A church that is closed Monday to Friday is the worst possible advertisement for Christianity," he said, according to BBC News.
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Making the most of church buildings includes opening it up for use as conference facilities, for school groups and for counseling services, among other things.
"We cannot go on locking up our treasures in closed buildings any more. We have to open the doors of the churches physically, as well as metaphorically," Morgan said. "Developing community buildings will involve us in new relationships with our communities and opens doors for us to rediscover and develop a proper and appropriate place alongside others in our parishes across the whole of Wales."
His comments come as many churches across Europe have closed their doors permanently and found new uses, with many transformed into restaurants, entertainment clubs, warehouses, as well as mosques, in order to survive the continual decline in church membership and attendance. Currently, about 30 Church of England churches are closed for worship – or declared "redundant" – each year, according to the national church's Web site. A list of churches is being marketed on the Web site "for suitable alternative use."
"We have seen a steady decline in church and chapel attendances over the past 50 years and, as a consequence, many of our finest historic buildings are being put at risk through a lack of use and investment," said Michael A. Davies, director of Davies Sutton Architects in Cardiff, who has worked on a number of church restorations, according to Media Wales.
"In many cases these buildings are becoming totally redundant and new uses are having to be found, or they are being demolished," he added.
Davies is pleased to hear Morgan's encouragement and believes churches need to maintain a continuous beneficial use for a sustainable future.
"It is often the case that ancient buildings change over time as they outgrow their original uses, and their owners wish to alter them for modern use," he noted. "The key is to adapt these old buildings with sympathetic and flexible uses."
Conference attendees will be introduced to Church in Wales churches that are already adapting, including St. Hywyn's at Aberdaron, Gwynedd, which has been renovated to serve pilgrims making their way to Bardsey Island, as well as local visitors. St. Maelog's at Llanfaelog, Anglesey, built a meeting room above the church for wood and glasswork by local artists, and hosts concerts and classes, as well as worship, as reported by BBC News. And at St. John's in Llangollen, Clwyd, pews were taken out to create a flexible space for intimate or contemporary services.
"It is very important that we use the space we have got," said the Rev. Raymond Smith, vicar of St Mary's Church, which has improved the building for religious services and other uses. "We are a church in the community, for the community and we are involved in the community."
Such added purposes to the churches will attract a greater proportion of the community, said Davies. "It is possible that the congregation will start to grow again."
