So well done, Synod, for implementing the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure, of which this is a part. I say this even though as I write we do not know whether the two members of the OSG Committee, Roy Thompson and myself, who are members of the current Council, will become members of its successor body. I have been a member for some time, and have greatly enjoyed the work, particularly site visits. I am currently Vice-Chairman, and have the interesting challenge of chairing the Organs Committee. This involves holding the ring with a bunch of passionate experts: builders, advisers, consultants. To be an effective chair, I need to know enough about tubular pneumatic action, nazards, keraulophons, Barker lever engines, not to mention the crucial difference between conservation and restoration, and so on, to let them do their stuff. As with all the specialist committees, they give their huge expertise freely to the church. For this we should be grateful!
Shirley-Ann has asked me to comment on how the general public is responding to this more creative approach to the use of church buildings. We are recovering, as a matter of theological principle, the old understanding that parish churches are there to serve the whole community throughout the week, rather than being locked up outside service times. So they now house cafés, health centres, gyms, drama studios, school facilities, shops and post offices (a rural development that may spread to cities) and a range of other provision. Where these serve a need, they are obviously welcomed by the community, as well as furthering the mission of the church.
But what about the loss of ‘sacred space’ and the creeping domestication of our buildings, with wall-to-wall carpets, sofas, kitchens - not to mention loos? Is it possible to make radical changes while safeguarding the special character of church buildings?
The answer is that it is perfectly possible if it is well done, and there are some brilliant examples up and down the country. Nor does it require rigid separation between ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ areas: this is bad theology, and it is often far better to keep the sense of a single open space. It simply requires confidence, a holistic approach, a good business plan – and money!
Michael Ainsworth
[A personal PS: thank you to all the members of Synod, including OSG friends, who sent messages of prayer and good wishes following my assault in the churchyard in March. I am fully recovered, and within the deanery there are some positive outcomes emerging. In some ways dealing with the media has been the hardest part, and attention may flare up again at the trial in a few months’ time.]
