Spiritual centres as community hubs

Last week the Government and the Church of England published guidelines to help all religious groups overcome the “squeamishness” they can encounter from funding providers. Churches and Faith Buildings: Realising the Potential identifies funding and support for faith groups that will enable them to adapt their buildings for community use and build on their capacity to engage at local and regional level.

In his Foreword to the guidance, the Bishop of London writes:

"There are about 16,000 parish churches in England which constitute a countrywide network which endures in the inner city and rural areas where places of public assembly and service are in short and often diminishing supply. There are now more parish churches than post offices and indeed there are already some 12 post offices which operate from church buildings. This is an example of a growing trend to return church buildings to their original function as places of worship and also places of assembly and celebration for the whole of the local community. This ancient tradition has in more recent times been overlaid by a distaste for mixing the sacred and secular but this dichotomy is increasingly being challenged. Encouragement from Government and from Regional Authorities would be a powerful incentive for the individual Parochial Church Councils responsible for parish churches to enhance their usefulness as community hubs with appropriate modern facilities such as kitchens and lavatories.

At a time of financial stringency when the green agenda is growing in significance it obviously makes sense to maintain and develop such a significant national asset. It would cost billions to replicate the country wide social infrastructure which already exists in the network of buildings the Church of England manages on behalf of the whole community. Any assistance would of course depend on a proven determination to equip the churches for wider community access but a relatively modest investment could yield large dividends."

FaithAction in their latest newsletter have commented on the guidance saying that they have seen some good examples of this approach and in some cases this may be a great strategy to pursue. However they suggest that Faith-Based Organisations:

"genuinely wanting to serve the wider community may want to consider whether attaching their community project directly to a faith building going would be a hindrance to prospective beneficiaries. Some of the most successful members of FaithAction have chosen to break out of these traditional premises in favour of offices and high street premises.

FaithAction have really seen the benefits of FBOs working in their wider local communities. City Gateway was named by a member of their local police force as the most effective crime prevention partner in their borough. Muhskil Aasaan, who we have come into contact with have changed the image and practice of health and social care within the local Asian communities for the better.

Many mentoring and social care groups that are part of FaithAction have had referrals from local borough services because they are meeting needs that secular government services simply can’t, because of their homogenous nature and detachment from communities. Instead of new solutions costing millions of taxpayer’s money, why not invest in smaller grassroots organisations for a fraction of this cost?"

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