New Uses for Old Churches? Who knows best?

It is hard to pick up a newspaper today and not read about the decline of the Churches of England and Scotland and the financial pressures that they are under and not for the first time in recent history there is much debate about what to do with surplus buildings.

I grew up in Easter Ross, the land of redundant churches. Every time there was a split during the religious disruptions of the late 19th and early 20th century the dissenters would build a new church in each parish capable of holding the whole congregation whom they were sure would follow them. The people of Ross and Cromarty loved a good schism but after the merger of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church in 1929 many of those churches faced closure.

There was one particularly austere church which we used to pass daily which had become a store for coffins during World War II. The area had been evacuated to be used as a D Day training area. On a happier note the beautiful Old Tarbat Church in Portmahomack is now saved and preserved as a Pictish Museum and Discovery Centre where our pagan passed is studied.

Both were imaginative examples of new uses for old buildings.

In the last couple of years plans are again afoot to merge congregations across the nation leaving many buildings with uncertain futures, places which have a  special hold on their congregations hearts and many of which have long been at the centre of the communities they have served.

The Church of Scotland was, and probably remains the most powerful voluntary association in Scotland today. Its social care arm, Crossreach is the largest provider in the country and other membership organisations can only dream about 14% of the populations turning up to hear its message every week, but it is a shadow of its former self. The most recent census shows that there are now more atheists in Scotland than members of the National Church.

I leave it to others better qualified by me to opine on why the church in in such decline. It is not a debate I feel qualified to engage with. My interest is in how civil society, and its relationship with business and government continues to evolve. I would only observe that churches were mostly built as community assets at a time when almost everyone regularly used them.

Of course churches aren’t  the only membership organisation in decline. The Freemasons, the Royal British Legion, Rural youth clubs, Probus and Rotary clubs are all in decline. There are also fewer places where people congregate together socially as pubs and clubs close on a weekly basis.

On the other hand there is a growth in new types of groups that chime with the way we live now. Amateur sports clubs, book groups, after school care groups, community cafes and social enterprises are just a few examples so I don’t think that the decline in traditional membership organisations represents a loss of peoples’ wish to participate in civil society more widely.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of what to do with redundant church buildings. Some old churches are historical, architectural gems which  merit restoration and preservation. Some buildings are in deprived inner-city ares where there is a shortage of community spaces. For some conversion to housing may be an option. However they should be seen as an opportunity, not a problem.

There are already many examples of old churches which are now successful museums, theatres, restaurants, galleries and even pubs. All buzzing social spaces serving their communities; often spaces where weddings, wakes and celebrations are regularly taking place.

A good example is the former Lansdowne Church in Glasgow, which has been acquired by the Four Acres Charitable Trust to create Webster’s Theatre. Their mission is to save this magnificent, architectural gem with its outstanding stained glass on a sustainable basis so the building can be preserved for future generations. 

This strategy is essentially a commercial one, running a profitable business with the profits being re-invested in the project’s work. A true social enterprise,

For new futures to be found for old church buildings the churches needs to let go of control. They aren’t building preservation trusts. They don’t run social and community enterprises as a primary function and they are not in the business of social recreation. They don’t have a monopoly on knowing how best to serve the broad diverse communities we live in. Communities themselves usually have a better idea. The church needs to have faith in wider society in its broadest possible form.

Running former churches as new social enterprises requires different skill sets and the people running them need to be able to tap into the wide plethora of talent that’s available. Church Elders may be best placed to be trustees of working churches but do they really have the skill sets to run museums, community cafes or amateur dance schools?

Successful enterprises will need to be able to attract external funding and will have to develop plans and services that align with funder’s goals. These will vary from case to case. Some major charitable trusts specifically exclude funding religious organisations so the church must distance itself from the new function.

New enterprises need to provide services that appeal to the community as a whole and being too closely associated with the church can be a disincentive to some people who could otherwise benefit in our multi-cultural society.

Different new functions also require appropriate governance structures based on what the new use is.  Some may be “for profit” businesses, some better suited as Community Interest Companies and some a Charitable Trusts. Structure follows function, not the other way round. There isn’t a a one size fits all model.

Of course churches need to have confidence in the people they either sell, give to or partner with. They have to be satisfied that enterprises have credible business plans and sound governance and they may even want to be able to recover their buildings should the plans not work out. Our churches remains a powerful national institution, albeit ones going through a period of evolution. Civil Society is evolving too but there is still a huge role for the church in an increasingly secular, pluralistic society and its redundant buildings are a major national asset.

In the words of Harry Truman “its amazing what can be achieved if you don’t mind who gets the credit”.