On 13 June, the diocese will host a
‘Buildings Symposium’ welcoming
people from across the Church of
England to look at the future of our
church buildings and how they must
change to survive.
Heritage Buildings and Community Support Officer, Andrew Mottram, said: “An early
outcome of the appointment of Place of Worship Support Officers (part funded by
Historic England) was the recognition of the need to change the way church buildings
are understood, used and managed. The recent ‘Taylor Sustainability Review of Church
Buildings’ confirmed this need for change. However, there is still a great deal of work to
be done to identify the most effective routes to success.
“Church buildings need to do more than just serve as places of worship if they are to
survive the changing society in which they are located. Simply saving historic buildings
because they are old is not enough; their roles both now and in the future, need to be
considered from the very outset.”
The one day symposium will share what has been learnt to date and also provide the
opportunity for key leaders in the church and heritage sector to share their insights in
what changes are necessary to secure the future of churches as places of mission.
Speakers are coming from the Archbishops’ Council, Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic
England among others.
Please pray for all those attending this symposium on 13 June.
Dudley Deanery – Rural Dean: Dominic Melville; Lay Chair: Anne Penn
Anglican Church in Mexico: Presiding Bishop Francisco Moreno
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland: Bishop Agnes Sigurdardottir with Bishops Kristjan
Ingolfsson and Solveig Gudmundsdottir
The Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church: Bishop Carlos Lozano