Temporarily closed church buildings - Coronavirus Covid-19 advice
Ecclesiastical
Insurance, who cover over 90% of Parish Churches, have produced a helpful
safety and maintenance checklist for those responsible for church buildings
which are currently out of use:
www.ecclesiastical.com/risk-management/unoccupied-properties-during-covid-19/church.
Their advice is applicable whoever insures your building.
The Cathedral and Church Buildings division in London has produced a series of guidance notes (at the bottom of this page) which we have been asked to circulate to all parishes. The documents will be updated as further information becomes available and the latest versions can be obtained at any time from the main Church of England Covid-19 webpages (www.churchofengland.org/coronavirus).
Faculty Petitions and Public Notices
As not all places of worship are open as normal, it may be impracticable to comply fully with the conditions for the display of Public Notices under the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules. The Chancellor has therefore issued a Practice Direction (re-amended 25th January 2021) which can be found at the bottom of this page. If you are at the Public Notice stage of your petition please read this Practice Direction carefully to see what steps you need to take. Simply put, when your petition has been recommended by the DAC:
1. If the matter to which your petition relates is listed in the Schedule attached to the Practice Direction, you should display Public Notices in the usual way and additionally you should advertise them on any parish church website, in the pew sheet or community newsletter etc;
2. If you had Public Notices on display on 6th January 2021, the notice period is suspended ("the clock stops") and will not start to run again until lockdown is lifted and your church is open again for public worship;
3. If you have not yet put up your Public Notices, then you will have to wait until lockdown is lifted and your church is open again for public worship before you can display your notices;
BUT
4. If the works are urgent then please contact the Registry (registryyork@luptonfawcett.law) to see whether the Chancellor can dispense with display of notices altogether or give some limited directions as to display.
Grants news
Allchurches Trust - Hope Beyond
Allchurches Trust has launched a new grants programme – Hope
Beyond - aimed at
enabling churches and Christian charities to meet changing need within their
communities as the longer term impact of Covid-19 becomes clearer.
Funding projects that will enable people, organisations and communities to
flourish in life after lockdown, Hope
Beyond will help
churches, Christian charities and communities to adapt to the challenges and
opportunities presented by the pandemic - building resilience and encouraging
hope.
Grants of up to £50,000 are available, and the amount you receive will depend
upon the cost of your project and level of need in your community, ranging
from 10% of project cost through to 80%.
To find out more information about the programme, read the research report and apply online, head to www.allchurches.co.uk/hopebeyond
[This page last updated 10th February 2021]
Bats in Churches - Cleaning your Church with Resident Bats: A Post-lockdown Guide
Advice from the Church of England on keeping your church building clean. 2nd December 2020, version 3.
The Church of England's guidance on opening your church safely for contractors to carry out works to the building fabric or interior. 8th December 2020, version 4
The Church of England's risk assessment template to help you keep your contractors and construction workers safe during Covid-19. 16th June 2020, version 2