The Church of England could rent out parish churches instead of selling them under proposals to deal with dwindling congregations.
At present, churches struggling to fill pews are often merged with other parishes and their buildings sold off.
However, under plans being considered by the General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, buildings would be allowed to lie “fallow” with the option to reopen them in the future.
This could mean renting them out at times and also offering them to other institutions, such as local authorities or even other Christian denominations, under a shared ownership deal.
The Church of England could rent out parish churches instead of selling them under proposals to deal with the crisis of dwindling congregation numbers. Plans emerged in papers ahead of #synod later this week.https://t.co/MG3xaIK0Pk
— Gabriella Swerling (@GabriellaSwerl) July 1, 2023