Why do we need to dispose of approximately 12,500 listed church buildings when the Church of England holds an investment fund of over £10 billion? asks Rachael Tearney.
The Church of England is currently obsessed with discussing safeguarding. The push appears to be for the creation of “an independent body” to oversee the process.
Yet while this bureaucratic wrangling continues, our heritage stands on the brink of destruction.
An article by The Victorian Society highlights a pressing issue that seems to be slipping under the radar. The General Synod is set to debate “the deregulation of the disposal process for church buildings.” But that word—disposal—does not sit comfortably with me.
These new Mission and Pastoral Measures and Regulations have only just been published, yet they are already up for debate. There has been little coverage of this issue at the parish level or in the wider press.
Once again, the Church appears poised to play fast and loose with our history. And it is not just the buildings themselves—centuries-old, irreplaceable places of worship—but also their contents, which could soon be subject to rapid disposal.
The Key Question: Why?
Why, exactly, do we need to dispose of approximately 12,500 listed church buildings when the Church of England holds an investment fund of over £10 billion?
These buildings are not worthless—land is never worthless. They are incredibly valuable, historically rare, and should be preserved, not cast aside. For centuries, parishioners have donated through collection plates, left legacies in their wills, and established almshouses, all to support their local churches. These gifts were given in trust—to the Church, for the work of the Church, for the needs of the parish, and for the glory of God. They cannot simply be dismissed.
Who Appoints the “Independents”?
On the issue of safeguarding, another question lingers: why is independence considered inherently superior? Who appoints these independent bodies? To whom are they accountable? How can they be removed if they fail? Where do their supposed superior abilities come from? It is not enough to simply claim that removing control from the Church is an improvement—where is the evidence?
The same concerns apply to our churches. Would it not be better to spend some of that £10 billion creating a dedicated body to protect these buildings and find ways to use them in serving the parish and the Lord once more? Instead, we are met with the same unsupported insistence that stripping the Church of its powers and handing everything over to secular authorities is somehow better.
And this is the great irony: secularists, who take great pride in their lack of belief, are now to be entrusted with decisions about religious heritage? Why should their opinions and decisions take precedence over those who cherish and understand these sacred spaces?
The Future of These Churches: Demolition? Destruction?
The most alarming question remains: once the disposal process has been deregulated, what happens next? Will we see centuries-old churches quietly demolished, their treasures sold off, their historical and spiritual significance reduced to nothing more than a bureaucratic afterthought?
Are we about to witness, through administrative process, the harrying of Christendom?
If this concerns you as much as it does me, I urge you to read The Victorian Society’s article and raise your voice before it’s too late.
Follow Rachel at @WritesRachael
Main Image: For illustration purposes only. Image created using Grok.
Old parish churches should be left to deteriorate because the £10 billions church fund isn’t enough to maintain them. They aren’t realistically useful because they have no toilet, no electricity and no heating. Very few can be used as a cafe, meeting room, crèche or bookshop etc. Local communities may want to keep fundraising for them because they look nice.