Opening Your church to Visitors
As a valuable part of the national heritage, churches are often a major attraction for visitors, whether local or from further afield. Opening your church building and providing basic facilities is not difficult and can be rewarding for the parish that welcomes people into its church. Making provision for visitors can also send a signal to the local community that the congregation is active and that the church is an important and valued part of the local neighbourhood.
Opening your church to visitors often requires only minor adjustments. However, the security and safety arrangements need to be assessed and maintained. Your inspecting architect and the church's insurance company will be able to advise you. Advice on opening church towers to visitors can be found on pp. 15-16 of the Health and Safety guidance note from Ecclesiastical Insurance.
As a general rule, churches which are open outside service times are much safer than locked churches. Furthermore, locked churches appear unwelcoming to visitors. A keyholder arrangement is rarely satisfactory, as very few visitors use it, and it is fraught with problems, such as the losing of keys.
Responses to the 2005 Parochial Returns questions indicate that half the Church of England's churches are now open for more than 10 hours a week and many for longer, while only 20 per cent are always closed to casual visitors outside service times.
If you decide to open and promote your church you need to make particularly sure that the building and the churchyard are safe, accessible and well maintained, though this is just as important for the regular congregation. There should be reasonable adaptations for disabled visitors and welcoming, clear signs at the gate or churchyard entrance and on the noticeboard, pointing out opening hours and the correct entrance door.
Finger posts could lead visitors from other local visitor attractions to the church. The local tourist information centre should be informed and should have a leaflet about the church, its opening hours and service times. Such a leaflet could also be displayed at other visitor attractions. In addition, the diocesan website or a dedicated parish website can contain information about the church as well as visitor arrangements.
Inside the church, you should provide information about the building, for example in form of leaflets, guide books or display boards, as well as a visitors' book and maybe small items for sale such as postcards. Any displays should look professional, fresh, clean and well maintained.
Look at your church with an objective eye, as if you were entering it for the first time: what does it say to visitors? Dusty, yellowed and tatty notices and dead flowers give the impression that the church has been neglected and that the congregation is not able to look after it. A welcoming sense of pride in the building quickly transmits itself to visitors.
Churches attract a range of very different audiences, including local residents, school groups, casual visitors, walkers, visitors interested in the architecture or the local history, people who are researching their ancestry and people who come to find a quiet space for reflection and prayer. Think of the needs of these different types of visitors. You may be able to develop information targeted towards different audiences, such as a simple guide or a quiz for children, an architectural guide or a simple history guide. Many churches have memorials, connecting the local community to significant national eents and these can provide points of interest for visitors. Remember that your community is unique: no other church will have exactly the same story to tell, whether in stone or memorials or inhabitants. Be proud of it and help others enjoy it.
You might also set aside a chapel for quiet prayer and provide prayer cards or prayer request books. Other visitors may not be familiar with the layout and special features of a church and will be grateful for information about the function of liturgical furnishings, such as the font, altar and pulpit. Don't forget to point out special or unique features of your church.
Some churches are able to provide volunteer stewards to welcome, guide and support visitors. Alternatively, some basic up-to-date information about the area, other attractions and facilities may be helpful for visitors.
Exhibitions and displays, for example from the local school or of a local artist's work, can add to the experience of visiting a church. Visitors will also be interested in information on the parish's activities which can demonstrate an active link between the congregation and the local community.
Charging will deter some visitors and it is often preferable to invite donations at the exit.
If you consider opening and promoting your church, it may be useful to write an action plan, outlining the aims, ways of implementation and funding requirements. The tourism officers for your diocese and your local authority will be able to advise and help you.
The Divine Inspiration initiative based in Coventry has produced some very good tool kits and guidance around opening up your church. This includes how to research the history of your church and then re-tell the stories to your visitors.
http://www.divine-inspiration.org.uk/ambassadors.php
The Tourism Task Group of Newcastle Diocese has produced Mission Visitors - a guide for churches seeking to raise their profile in the tourism market place. Ideal for churches already embarked upon visitor welcome activities and presenting their story, this guide (publised in March 2009) sets out a series of low-cost steps to build a profile with the local touism community and reach new visitors. Whilst contacts given are specific to the Newcastle and Northumberland areas, the principles are widely applicable. http://www.churchestourism.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=1&Itemid=56
November 2007, January 2008, August 2009
Further Information
The website of the Churches Tourism Association, England's leading body for faith heritage tourism, provides resources for churches wanting to open up their churches to visitors and contains information on regional and local church tourism initiatives.
Hidden Britain is a charity-run initiative to encourage tourism, to uncover lesser known areas of the countryside, and to provide a different and more meaningful experience for the visitor. Hidden Britain provides the guidance, advice, support and experience to local communities to help them draw up plans and implement the setting up of a Hidden Britain Centre in their area. If you want to find how your church can become involved visit the Hidden Britain website.
