In the House of Commons today Penrith and The Border MP, Dr Neil Hudson, asked the Second Church Estates Commissioner about support for rural churches from the Church of England. The Commissioner’s primary parliamentary role is to answer oral and written questions from MPs about Church of England matters.
Dr Hudson asked:
“Churches in rural communities face the challenges of small and sometimes decreasing congregations, significant upkeep of old buildings and often being in a group of churches under a common minister. These churches are at the heart of our rural communities and play such an important role for the people in those communities. Can I ask my honourable friend what is the Church doing to support the long term survival of small rural churches?”
The Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, responded:
“I am very grateful to my Honourable Friend for raising this issue, he is absolutely right to do so. I can tell him that our rural churches are a precious part of the Church of England and we are looking at various options for small rural churches which could include, for example, new insurance and maintenance partnerships to remove some of the bureaucracy from priests and church wardens, whilst very importantly retaining local ownership.
We are committed to a thriving, rural Ministry to attract the congregations to be able to sustain these churches into the future.”
Dr Hudson added:
“Rural churches are at the centre of and often the lifeblood of rural communities and it is encouraging to that the Church of England is looking at new and innovative ways of supporting them going forward. The last 18 months have been very difficult for church congregations especially in rural areas of my constituency. I am supportive of the idea of removing bureaucracy from priests and church wardens so they can focus on what really matters.”
