Church Buildings Audit
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!! Here’s the church Here’s the steeple Open the doors But where are the people...? Put your Church at the centre of your community Church Buildings Audit Church Buildings Audit 1305! 1/8!www.churchbuild.co.ukwww.churchbuild.co.uk !! Welcome to the Church Buildings Audit Churches are increasingly rethinking their worship and the buildings in which that worship takes place. New patterns of worship make us increasingly aware of the conflict between what the building proclaims both in its external appearance and its internal arrangement, and what the worshipping community believe and wish to express; sadly, many of our churches are suitable only for Victorian worship. If a church discussing these issues is to move beyond an expression of personal 'likes' and 'dislikes', then it is important to have a tried and tested process for making good decisions. That process needs to balance changing uses with continuity of purpose, and to provide criteria for the development and re-ordering of churches that look beyond the merely utilitarian questions of function to what a church building really is. That’s what this audit aims to provide. We have written this material for use in small groups, with each session providing sufficient material for an evening of discussion, but you may find other means of using it, perhaps in other settings - we would be keen to hear. The issues you will discuss are serious and important, but we hope the process of discussing them will be exciting and enjoyable - please make that process fun! We have created this resource to be used, and are very happy for it to be copied and circulated, provided the content is not altered and the Structure of the Audit: authors are credited. We would be pleased to receive feedback on its usefulness and any 1. Where have you come from? suggestions you may have for improving it. a) Talkative buildings We hope this Audit will be of relevance to a wide b) How would you describe your range of churches across the denominations. building’s character? Where we have had to choose, the terminology c) Engaging with your story used is from the Church of England (eg ‘PCC’); if 2. Where are you now? you are from another tradition we hope you will not feel excluded and will be able to do the a) How does the worshipping necessary translation. community express its faith today? b) How does the wider community see the church? c) How do you believe the church should be used? 3. Where are you heading? David Stancliffe is the former Bishop of Salisbury a) Dreaming the future... and the author of The Lion Companion to Church b) Three key principles for Architecture (2008); in the early 1990s he delivering change oversaw the reordering of Portsmouth Cathedral. c) Conclusion Nigel Walter is an architect based in Cambridge with a specialism in the church sector. He is the author of The Gate of Heaven - how church buildings speak of God (Grove Books, 2011) and blogs at churchbuild.co.uk. The authors can be contacted via [email protected] Church Buildings Audit 1305! 2/8!www.churchbuild.co.uk !!1. Where have you come from? 1. Where have you come from? a) Talkative I’m talking all the time... buildings Go away ! ...but do you like what I’m saying? Your church building is talking all the time, No-one cares for me but what is it actually ... or for you You’re not welcome saying? 1. About its history? God’s gone 2. About the community for Did she really fishing which it was built just say that? and those communities that have made adaptations since? 3. About the purpose for which it was built and the reasons for What is your Church saying? any change? 4. About its purpose today - how do you use it now? 5. Is it cared for? And therefore will I be cared for? What does that teach us about the relationship between • God (theology)? • worship (liturgy)? • the community (social history)? Does the building suggest that God is absent, worship irrelevant and the community excluded? Or does it speak instead of relevance and the integration of God, worship and community? b) How would you describe your building’s character? 1. What are the general characteristics of the building - large, small, cold, homely, spacious, light, cluttered, dark, tidy ... ? What are the shapes of the 'rooms'? What spaces and levels? Can you see what is going on? 2. Furniture and fittings - do they help or hinder? Are they in the right place? Could some be discarded or used elsewhere? Which should be retained? Church Buildings Audit 1305! 3/8!www.churchbuild.co.uk !!1. Where have you come from? 3. Lighting and acoustics - are the lights in the right place? Can they be used to highlight a particular part of the service or building? Can the units be controlled flexibly and independently? Can you hear clearly? For the spoken word, and for music? 4. Heating and access - Can you get into the building and move about in it safely, or is it just an auditorium? Is it adequately warm? Does the heating restrict movement or clutter the space? c) Engaging with your story Resources: • What Can Churches Learn from We understand the world in terms of story. But their Past by Neil Evans and have you ever stopped to think about your John Maiden (Grove Books, community’s story? Has the building always been Pastoral series, P131) like this (very unlikely) or has it changed over the • The Lion Companion to Church years? Who has been associated with the Architecture by David Stancliffe building in the past, what do we know about their (Lion, 2008) lives, and how does that relate to the Christian story? God invites us to be a part of his story in our particular place. Understanding that narrative is really important - it enriches the present by uncovering our past and opening up our future. Church buildings are a physical representation of that narrative, and like that narrative, they help to form our character and root us within our tradition. Remember, tradition needn’t be dry and boring! Tradition can help us understand where we’ve come from and what God is calling us to be. Tradition can be radical! Get help! There may be other people interested in your building who would be keen to help, such as a local history society. www.churchplansonline.org might have drawings, if the church was changed by the Victorians. And you could try the county archive. Activity: Dig into the past and find something relevant to the present & future. Church Buildings Audit 1305! 4/8!www.churchbuild.co.uk !!2. Where are you now? 2. Where are you now? a) How does the worshipping community express its faith today? 'Any person or body carrying out functions of care and conservation under this Measure or under any other enactment or rule of law relating to churches shall have due regard to the role of a church as a local centre of worship and mission.' Care of Churches Measure (1991) 1. How does the PCC understand its 'worship and mission? 2. What models of being the church do you resonate with? • The house of God • The house of the People of God • The gate of heaven • The Body of Christ • The People of God • A Temple of the Spirit • A sign of the Kingdom • Pilgrims on the Paschal Journey • Something else... 3. Has the PCC considered how their preferred model(s) of the church can be proclaimed and expressed in its worship? 4. What should the church be proclaiming about its nature and mission by its liturgy and the arrangement of furniture and fittings, with special regard to: • Corporate worship and the Eucharist • Proclamation of and reflection on the Word of God? • The relationship of the members of the community to one another? Church Buildings Audit 1305! 5/8!www.churchbuild.co.uk !!2. Where are you now? • Personal commitment and initiation, especially the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation? • Personal growth and the spiritual life? • The church's ministry in relation to the community? b) How does the wider community see the church? Where is the centre of your community? Is the church seen to be at the centre, or on the outer edges? Have you asked the community what they think? To outsiders, does the church demand that you belong before you’re ‘allowed’ to enter? Or is the church so active in its community that it makes the place tick? Resources: c) How do you believe the church • The Gate of Heaven - how church buildings speak of God should be used? by Nigel Walter (Grove Books, 1. Liturgical Spirituality Series, S118) a) Sunday worship, of a variety of kinds • The Community Planning Event b) Weekday worship Manual by Nick Wates c) the Pastoral Offices, eg weddings, (Earthscan, 2008) funerals d) Special services and events e) Personal prayer (how is it to be kept 3. Community open?) a) as a community gathering space, 2. Educational Parish hall or meeting room a) Workshops, lectures and discussion b) as a Day Centre, for a Lunch Club or groups other social activity b) Drama and music - plays and c) for a Library, reading room, Post concerts Office, cashpoint or charity shop c) Art displays and exhibitions d) for casual visitors - what tourist / d) A place to discover local history cycling / rambling routes are you on? Activity: Put down your honest thoughts about the status quo. What would it take for this to improve? Church Buildings Audit 1305! 6/8!www.churchbuild.co.uk !!3.