!! 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. Where are you heading? 3. Where are you heading? a) Dreaming the future...

1. Bearing in mind all that you have discussed together, in what ways is the present building a help or hindrance to your worship and the Church's mission in the community? 2. Think of consulting the Diocesan Advisory Committee or similar body about your worship or building. Consider arranging a Study Day or a visit to another church. 3. Make a large plan of the church, showing all the attached buildings like vestries and halls, removing all the furnishings and fittings, so that you can see what the spaces are and how they interrelate. Think of a large service with lots of visitors, and a small weekday service, and think about the different ways the space would be used: • How are people welcomed? Are visitors ‘ambushed’ with information, or can they find their own way? • Is the action visible? Can the congregation move, or use different parts of the church at different stages? Where will they sit, for which part(s) of the service, and on what? Check lighting as well as sightlines. • How is the music led, and accompanied, and by whom and on what? • Where will the children be, and for which parts of the service? • How easy is the building to navigate? Can the visitor find the toilet, or the meeting room? • Consider other Sunday activities - socialising, teaching, study or prayer groups, the ministry of healing - in relationship to what you have put on the plan. b) Three key principles for delivering change:

• Narrative: Understand your (plural) story. • Vision: Understand what you believe God is calling you to be; why should I believe in (and give to) this? • Delegation: Get organised - Who is going to be responsible for what?

Church Buildings Audit 1305! 7/8!www.churchbuild.co.uk !!3. Where are you heading? c) Conclusion Some architectural/liturgical Only when you have thought through these issues will you be in a position principles to guide you to begin to brief your architect. This process should result in lots of 1. Churches are different from our homes - discussion and ideas, but it is avoid the soft furnishings, potted plants etc helpful if you can summarise your 2. All design, including movable fittings, altar main conclusions in written form - ornaments, vestments, etc should be related brief bullet points is probably best. to the overall plan of the building and its By following this process we believe architectural character. you will make wiser and creative decisions and arrive at an overall 3. Churches are not furniture stores, and plan that is an expression of your should be kept uncluttered; try to dispose of ministry, rather than responding to at least as much furniture as you might add individual issues in an incoherent (following the appropriate processes). and piecemeal fashion. Once you 4. Architectural, liturgical and social needs have that overall plan, you can then should be allowed to interact, eg the position choose how it is to be implemented. of the Font and Altar, but then priorities must be chosen and the reasons made explicit. 5. Churches are often made up of different interconnecting ‘rooms’. Use different Resources: spaces for distinct functions: lighting can create spaces as can changes in floor texture. • Re-Pitching the Tent - The definitive guide to re-ordering 6. Aim for as much open space as possible, church buildings for worship flexibility as regards seating and emphasis and mission’ by Richard Giles on the fixed points of key liturgical and (Canterbury, 2007) mission significance, eg Font, Bible and • Prayer... Altar.

Activity: Dream your future as described above, and then summarise your main conclusions in bullet points...

...‘and here are the people!’

Church Buildings Audit 1305! 8/8!www.churchbuild.co.uk