Regardless of denomination it’s the extremes of Christianity which are thriving in the UK: the cathedral sung formal worship with superb music and liturgy and the Evangelical/Gospel worship which is fervent and free in format, often existing in buildings that are not particularly attractive in their own right but are cheap to run, therefore the energy of the worshippers can be put to mission. In our small village we are looking at raising vast sums to replace the roof on our quite attractive and expensive to run Victorian Gothic church. When the villagers were asked did they want the building to remain, the answer was yes, it’s somewhere to have a funeral. Jesus said, Let the dead bury their dead, I’m the God of the living. He’s right. I’m inclined to let it fall down and to start again in someone’s front room for worship and go from there. The whole building is a millstone rather than a an asset and I’m sure similar situations arise like ours throughout the country.
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When an admittedly spectacular medieval church (with Saxon bits) suffered a terrible fire in the 1930s, a huge campaign was begun by villagers to raise money for its restoration. It is something our local history society has researched, and found that many, many people who were not attendees, were not Anglicans and some who were not believers took part and made personal donations. The village in question (it calls itself a 'town' even though it isn't) sees the building at its heart as its heart, and even in these days of falling church attendance, I believe it would do the same again.Comment
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