The C of E won’t be too upset if some churches never reopen
Next Sunday is Whit Sunday: the Christian feast that marks the moment when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles after Christ had ascended to heaven. But this year, the churches will be empty. While schools prepare to welcome pupils back and restaurants reconfigure table plans, churches remain firmly shuttered.
It is different in Italy, where Catholics returned to Mass this week. I felt teary just watching them on TV. Those of us who are churchgoers are feeling starved of the comfort and inspiration we get from coming together to worship God and to pray. But the continuing closure of churches is not just distressing for those of us who like bothering God with our woes and thanks. Many agnostics and even atheists enjoy a tranquility in church buildings unlike anything they find elsewhere. And unless churches reopen soon, there is a risk some of them won’t ever do so again.
When a church is in lockdown, the whole life of the church goes – and so does its income. There’s no collection plate, no wedding or funeral fees, and no rent from those who use its buildings. Many Anglican vicars have told me how fearful they are of their churches going bust. Reserves are being spent and nobody has crossed ecclesiastical thresholds to carry out repairs, storing up costly maintenance problems in historic buildings.
A few weeks before lockdown, a startling report dropped onto the desks of church officials: that the greatest reduction in the Church of England’s stock of churches since the 16th century is underway. Struggling, Closed and Closing Churches said that in the past 50 years, 2,000 churches have closed – about 10 per cent of the stock. Now vicars fear plenty more could be shut for good.
Given that the Church Commissioners have huge amounts of money tucked away, this might be surprising. They have lent the dioceses £75million to pay salaries during the pandemic. Yet it’s the money that comes in via the parishes themselves that normally props up the whole system.
Some bishops are already saying they will close some churches for good. That will be popular with the accountants – but also with those in the C of E who like talking about “hubs” and “places of strength”. The jargon refers to a slimmed-down
C of E that focuses on buildings that can house large congregations to which people drive from miles around while everything else goes online.
If the C of E becomes an internet church, some might say that would not be a bad thing: online services have attracted large numbers during lockdown. But a church isn’t just a Facebook singalong. It’s a place that evokes those who went before us and are now remembered in plaques on the wall, in the stained glass, and in the adjoining graveyard. It’s a building that connects us to the present, that acts as the beating heart of a neighbourhood, even for those who do not attend on a Sunday. If Covid-19 means some churches never reopen, that beating heart will be stilled.