April 16, 2003

The Churches Tourism Association (CTA) has welcomed the "Restoring Hope in our Church" initiative, launched by a coalition of Anglican mission agencies. Mrs Rosemary Watts, national press officer for CTA, said, "We agree with the Archbishop of Canterbury that 'God always gives the church what it needs to be the church.' The CTA believes that our church buildings, especially our parish churches, are a gift from God. They are a visible opportunity in every place for the church to engage with the local community throughout the week, not just in the one hour or so when the building is used for congregational worship."

The CTA encourages churches to welcome visitors, and draws attention to the advice from church insurers that, wherever possible, a church should be left open during the day. Mrs Watts said that experience showed that when a church is left open many people visit who would not wish to attend a church service.

Through the interpretation of the church building in the context of its meaning (rather than offering merely architectural and historical information) the church can become a spiritual resource for the whole community. In addition, many churches offer opportunities for leaving prayer requests and also thanksgiving, and these can enable the congregations better to fulfil their traditional role of offering prayer for the whole community.

Mrs Watts said that opening the church during the day costs nothing; there was no difference in the insurance premium on an open church. Evidence from churches, which had changed from being locked to being open daily, was that crime, especially vandalism, significantly decreased or even ceased altogether.

The CTA exists to promote the need for churches to welcome tourists and to educate churches and others about the benefits which can arise from such a welcome. A 'tourist' is anyone who visits the church outside the times of a service, including visitors from within the local community. A common comment from local residents, particularly non-churchgoers, when a church changes from being locked to being open is "We've got our church back."

CTA encourages the sharing of good practice, assists the development of partnerships at national, regional and local level, particularly for the development of church tourism and provides resources to assist members in their work, including a regular newsletter and web site.

Anglican Communion News Service