From a recent Church of England communication:
A five-way partnership has today published guidance for churches interested in hosting community shops on their premises – The Guidelines and Best Practice for the Provision of Community Shops in Churches and Chapels.
Building on the knowledge and experience gained by pioneering examples of shops in churches, the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division of the Church of England and the National Rural Officers for the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church (based at the Arthur Rank Centre) have been working in partnership with the Plunkett Foundation to produce guidance specifically for churches and chapels who are interested in hosting shops.Hosting shops in church buildings provides a very important community service, particularly for small or isolated rural communities.
The Rt Revd James Bell, Bishop of Knaresborough and Chair of the C of E’s Rural Affairs Group, said: “Church buildings may often be the only community space in a village or a deprived urban area and can provide the perfect location for a community-owned shop. The building can provide not only the space but also the volunteer support and enthusiasm needed for serving the community in this way.“
There are currently more than 250 community shops in England, Scotland and Wales and each year 20 or more open for business. Some of these are finding premises within churches and chapels although not all the suggested facilities may be suitable for church buildings.
It’s not completely clear from the notice given whether a “community shop” in a church setting is meant to be a way to help defray financial hardship or perhaps in some cases just delay specter of the inevitable. If not, then nevermind. Certainly such enterprises – thrift shops, daycare centers – have been around a while.
Is there a more intense era of such cooperation lurking, though? Material like that quoted above brings to mind a few paragraphs from a press release by the Episcopal Church Building Fund that was noticed here at the Café when it was published in August:
In addition to changing loan policies, the Building Fund is developing new ways to support parishes struggling under the burden of old, difficult-to-maintain, underutilized buildings. The organization helps parishes rethink their space and re-evaluate building usage, and works with them to achieve financial sustainability. Developing revenue, greening, successful mergers and closings and understanding how parishes fit into the context of their individual communities were all topics at a recent symposium offered at the organization’s new headquarters at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. They are available to consult with dioceses and congregations about how to make their real estate assets financially self-sustainable and as an income stream for mission.
“Many clergy and lay leaders have a hunger to see the dilemmas of their physical assets in a new light, and to find creative and innovative ways to deal with this long-standing, sometimes paralyzing, issue,” said Groom-Thompson. “We are in difficult economic times, and many of our churches find themselves in dire financial situations. The time for conversation about this issue is long past, the time for action is now. In times of crisis there is great opportunity. The real misfortune is in not making use of the crisis.”
Talk of congregations as “financially sustainable” entities should be greeted as refreshingly honest if (as is mentioned) overdue. One wonders whether reps from ECBF and Cathedral and Church Buildings Division might be visiting soon to see what they can learn from each other.