{"id":73750,"date":"2018-09-19T08:52:06","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T12:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=73750"},"modified":"2018-09-19T08:53:11","modified_gmt":"2018-09-19T12:53:11","slug":"telegraph-modernise-or-close-parish-churches-told-as-judge-warns-buildings-risk-future-as-supermarkets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=73750","title":{"rendered":"(Telegraph) Modernise or close, parish churches told as judge warns buildings risk future as supermarkets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Church buildings will become “supermarkets and dance studios” if traditionalists block revamps in the name of heritage, a\u00a0Church\u00a0of England<\/a>\u00a0judge has warned.<\/p>\n

Chancellor\u00a0June\u00a0Rodgers\u00a0hit out at heritage groups that resist modernisation, warning that\u00a0churches\u00a0must change in order to stay relevant.<\/p>\n

In a ruling published earlier this month, she said: “If people disagree with sensible and necessary re-ordering of an existing\u00a0church\u00a0building to keep it in use, then they should think what redundant\u00a0churches\u00a0have been turned into: a supermarket, climbing walls, dance studios, or even demolition.”<\/p>\n

She ruled that the Grade II listed Mariners’\u00a0Church\u00a0in Gloucester could install a kitchen, new lighting system, sound system and monitors, and remove pews, as part of an overhaul to help it accommodate a growing congregation….<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Yes, it’s important to look after our heritage, but it’s also essential that our church buildings are equipped to serve the needs of the modern communities that surround them.https:\/\/t.co\/1Mjx11HwQV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Growing Rural Church (@GtRCDevon) September 19, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n