Almost two-thirds of those running England’s Anglican cathedrals are concerned about their finances, a BBC survey suggests.
Of the 38 cathedrals who responded fully, 26 said they were “worried” or “very worried” about the future.
Last year, the Church of England gave £8.3m to the historic buildings but the cash does not cover all of their needs.
Some cathedrals are now looking to new ways of fundraising including hiring the buildings out as venues.
Here’s a really wild idea. Instead of turning cathedrals into event venus, why don’t they turn them into churches? Get some Bible believing, Jesus loving clergy and start an evangelical revival/revolution. Truthfully, do you know how many successful churches in ACNA/PEARUSA would give anything to just be able to have a building? And these guys have amazing buildings and can’t even figure out what they are supposed to be used for. Just a thought.
David I too have been taken aback at the readiness of English churches to abandon the idea of sacred space. Sometimes these moves are regarded as innovative and praiseworthy. See for example St James West Hampstead, London, praised by its own diocese. A church complete with a fully functioning post office and a children’s helter-skelter. What nobody seems to ask about these initiatives is: do they bring people to church? Do more people come to hear the word of God, to share the sacrament, to be built up in Christian faith? When Ship of Fools went to the Sunday service there it found 25 people in congregation. Report and pix:
http://www.ship-of-fools.com/mystery/2015/2915.html
Mind you, there is something even more heart-rending: the sale of a church and its conversion into something completely secular. There are plenty in the UK. And the WSJ had a disturbing article not long ago on Europe’s churches, both Catholic and Protestant, that were up for sale, with pictures of R.C. St Joseph’s Arnhem, the Netherlands, now a skate board park.
I know that here we have no abiding city. And I know that in the words of Rick Warren, it’s the people not the steeple. But there is something disturbing about sacred images being ignored in a totally secular setting or even put to profane use: they become a counter-symbol.
I was very interested to learn that in medieval times churches were used for the community, for events, and even for fairs. There was less of a church/secular divide then because I suppose Christianity was integrated into all aspects of daily life rather than a space and time set aside. Similarly in daily life, devotion was part of the routine.
I don’t mind churches being used for community life, including post and advice. The proviso is the chancel should be set aside, but what happens in the nave can be used for other events.
However, if you were to visit many of the great Anglican cathedrals including St Paul’s, if you knew nothing of Christianity and had never heard the good news, you would probably be none the wiser when you left. People come in open and interested to learn, but nobody takes the opportunity to explain. There are no events or courses [such as Alpha, Christianity Explored or their kind] to help them or even preaching, save for ocassional prayers and services. We miss a great opportunity with those who have made the effort to visit us in the church.
Not the least of the problems is with Cathedral clergy, many of whom are there because they would be useless in parish life – in short the wrong sort of people. Many of them don’t believe all that stuff anyway.