Bishop Encourages Church Members to Support Inspired!
The Bishop of London at the Launch on 24th May 2006
The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, has welcomed Inspired, the English Heritage five point plan to assist historic places of worship. The plan was launched today (10/05/06) at St Mary Magdalene Paddington by Simon Thurley, CEO English Heritage and the Bishop of London.
Speaking at the event the Bishop stated;
“This has been a valuable exercise providing confirmation of the current picture while acknowledging the huge achievements by congregations and volunteers throughout the country. In many ways it is a success story, but the question for the Church of England with 13,000 listed buildings, is whether it is sustainable. “The places where churches are vulnerable include obvious candidates like rural Norfolk, but more surprisingly, some centrally located churches are also at risk.
“The funds being requested are very modest, but Inspired has set out some important principles. There is no need for any new bureaucracy to administer these funds, rather the theme is capacity building amongst those already caring for the churches. This distribution of funds through networks on the ground is an important principle, and is a key part of this stitch in time approach.
“We also welcome the proposals to re-examine the Grade 1 category. If we can define more clearly what it is in the case of each church that is worth preserving, then there will be greater flexibility in providing additional facilities which are needed to ensure churches serve communities in the twenty first century.
“Heritage, however, is only one way of looking at churches. Churches deal so much in what is essential in our local communities, education, tourism and social regeneration, all adding much to the local economy. In looking to the long term, it is necessary to consolidate the help and expertise already being offered by heritage bodies and build up relationships with other funders based on renewed appreciation of the potential of churches, not only for worship and community memory, but also for regeneration in the wider sense”.
The Inspired five-point plan includes;
– rewriting out-dated list descriptions for all 4200 Grade 1 places of worship which will make it simpler to adapt the buildings to the needs of congregations and communities in the 21st Century. – helping congregations to help themselves by appointing Historic Places of Worship Support Officers to provide expertise
– creating a Maintenance Grants scheme to shrink repair bills in the longer term – continuing the EH/HLF Repair Grants Scheme for places of worship and augmenting it with a new Small Grants Scheme
– making sure safety nets are in place for redundant places of worship, including campaigning for adequate Government money for the Churches Conservation Trust
Write in Support of the Campaign
The Bishop of London has encouraged London’s churchgoers and friends to write to their local MP or the Chancellor of the Exchequer in support of the Inspired scheme. A proforma postcard is available on the Inspired website but a personal letter, setting out the challenges of your own church situation and asking for further government action may be more effective.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ
Log on to www.english-heritage.org.uk/inspired! for more information and for details of how to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking him to back the campaign. Or order a free copy of the Inspired! booklet by calling English Heritage Customer Services on 0870 3331181.
Bishop Encourages Church Members to Support Inspired!