Practice and Research Revd Nigel Lacey Rector Benefice of West Wycombe

Currently visited 460 churches Sent out questionairres Recently looking at Forward in Faith Churches Small Pilgrim Places Network Evangelical Churches

Methods Anglican Parishes churches in England Visits – Cotswolds, Norfolk, Essex, Suffolk, Somerset, London,Cumbria, Devon, Derbyshire, Dorset & few others. Standard criteria – record cards, open?, signage, leaflets etc available, provision for children, visitors book, prayers, candles, look up website, decide a rating, churchmanship Aim for consistency and objectivity + ‘calling card’ Looking for - Good practice Quality of welcome ‘Tourists to pilgrims’

Ratings Very poor – locked, no indication of when or if open Poor – open at least sometimes but no, or little effort made to welcome visitors Okay – open but nothing to say it is. Guide book but little else. What does church feel like and look like to a visitor? Good – some thought and effort to welcome visitors. Information about Christian faith. Prayer board and or votive stand. Some interpretation of building. Very Good- decent guide books. Something aimed at children. Signs that say open & welcome visitors. Material about Christian faith. Pictures of people – living church. Prayer provision – taken seriously. Excellent – a lot of effort given to visitors. All of above but done very well. Perhaps friendly stewards? Mainly bigger churches but not always.

Very poor/locked churches - examples

Why does churchmanship affect visitor rating? Evangelical churches – sit light to building - music and AV equipment - ministering to congregation / retreated into - often have no idea what I am talking about - less to see/ do – eg. Candles - 'purity' Forward in Faith parishes – beleaqered – major survey Serving Christ means serving others - Church as 'club' – who's church is it? - telling stories - being open to others - exercising hospitality -enabling spiritual encounters – risky as we not in control!

Who are our visitors? 1. Church Enthusiasts – small but very active group. Visit lots churches. Needs – good guides, knowledgeable stewards. 2. Geneologists – visit a few places but look in great detail. Needs – burial records, churchyard plans (always well thumbed). Some areas get lots of these eg Cotswolds, Cornwall ? 3. Curious/ Casual visitors – big group. See church open & go in. Probably not sure what they are looking at + for. Impressions & atmosphere count for much for this group. Needs – good welcome, interpretation, history, stories, mementoes. Can be very important if near a tourist attraction. Lots of potential. 4. Locals – by far biggest group. Won’t write in visitors book – why should they? ‘It’s our church’. Needs – welcoming place. Somewhere to leave prayers & light candles of similar. Space to be quiet & reflect & pray – materials to help with this.

Excellent Churches St. Michael with St. Mary, Melbourne, Derbys

Excellent churches St. Catherine’s, Ludham, Norfolk

' A church that lives to itself will die to itself' John Pritchard