Churches and Faith Buildings: Realising the Potential

The paper has been produced by a working group comprising officials from Her Majesty’s Treasury, Communities and Local Government, Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Defra in conjunction with representatives of the Church of England. The paper should help dioceses and similar structures in other denominations and faiths to have a better understanding of how to access resources that will enable them to engage directly at a strategic level with the local and regional structures within which funding priorities and decisions are made. In turn, these structures and funders will be better equipped to understand the important role of the C of E and faith groups in delivering public services.

A hard copy can be obtained from rebecca.payne@c-of-e.org.uk
or read the full report on:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/cathandchurchbuild/realising.doc

£180,000 programme to strengthen rural churches

Mapping the existing provision of training for mission and ministry across England

"The Arthur Rank Centre (ARC) is to launch a £180,000 training project to strengthen churches in the countryside. ‘Rural Life and Faith’ could benefit 13,000 rural churches of all denominations, and will equip them for a modern role in villages and the countryside. ARC will spend £180,000 over 3 years to fill those major gaps in training provision which threaten the life and work of the rural church.

Four grant making trusts - Allchurches Trust; the Maurice and Hilda Laing Charitable Trust; the Henry Smith Charity and St Peters Saltley Trust are providing £180,000 of funding for the project. Research to map the existing provision of training for mission and ministry across England will begin immediately, and the first training modules will become available to churches in 2010.

http://www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk/
rurallifeandfaithlaunch_280409.pdf