The Church of England could rent out parish churches instead of selling them under proposals to deal with dwindling congregations.<\/p>\n
At present, churches struggling to fill pews are often merged with other\u00a0parishes and their buildings sold off<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, under plans being considered by the General Synod, the Church\u2019s legislative body, buildings would be allowed to lie \u201cfallow\u201d with the option to reopen them in the future.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> later this week.https:\/\/t.co\/MG3xaIK0Pk<\/a><\/p>\n — Gabriella Swerling (@GabriellaSwerl) July 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n