Churches just for Christmas

Attendance at some rural Anglican churches is so sparse that it may only be economic to open them on feast days, writes Elena Curti.

The idea is contained in a report from the Church of England’s church buildings review group. The document issued on Tuesday says that the notion of so-called “Festival Churches” is gaining currency in rural areas where attendance is particularly low. These churches open only occasionally for major seasonal services.

The review group says that it endorses the proposal and there is a plan to amend canon law to enable a bishop to allow them to be used only occasionally.

The 65-page report covers how the Church manages all of its 16,000 buildings and heralds the start of a consultation on the subject. One in four of all rural churches have fewer than 10 people attending weekly.