Coronavirus (covid-19)
Last updated 17 April 2021.
This page links to various resources for Historic Places of Worship during the coronavirus pandemic. There are six sections (scroll down)
1. News on the use of places of worship (England, Scotland, Wales separately)
2. Other news / gift aid
3. General knowledge hubs / portals
4. Advice from specific bodies, including faith groups and denominations
5. Funding and other generally useful Covid-19 links (section added January 2021), including a link to Rebuilding Heritage (free advice and one-to-one consultancy)
6. Calls for evidence, surveys, reports (including the latest ‘Volunteering’ survey)
1. News regarding the use of places of worship (for other news, scroll down)
The easiest way to make sure you are reading the very latest information in detail is to use the Law and Religion page, which is updated daily as new material emerges; otherwise, for considered advice and guidance, pulling together all the strands, refer to your faith group or denominational website (see below under ‘4. Advice from specific bodies’).
1.1 ENGLAND
Government
12 April 2021. The Government updated its guidance for the safe use of places of worship, and for celebrating religious festivals. As far as we can see, there are no surprises, and the guidance is in line with what we summarised below (see 22 February).
26 March 2021: The Government published revised guidance regarding singing in places of worship (scroll down to ‘singing, chanting and the use of musical instruments’) applicable to Palm Sunday (28 March) and thereafter (with social distancing guidelines outdoors changing on 29 March). The Royal School of Church Music has new guidance based on this with some of the changes usefully headlined, and the Church of England has updated its guidance (scroll down to ‘Is singing permitted’.
22 February 2021: The Government published its roadmap out of the current lockdown for England. The position for routine worship in places of worship remains unchanged (allowed, with conditions). That for weddings and funerals develops during the period. It is expected that:
- Weddings. From 8 March, six people will be able to attend a wedding. From 12 April fifteen people will be able to attend a wedding and a reception afterwards. From 17 May thirty people will be able to attend a wedding and a reception afterwards. From 21 June all attendance restrictions will be lifted. People must wear face coverings and maintain social distancing.
- Funerals. Attendance limited to thirty until 21 June.
Dotted throughout the document is material relevant to community centres and thus possibly to church halls etc.
Church of England advice on heating: The Church of England has published (1 October) advice on heating. It states that it is safe to operate nearly all forms of church heating. No Covid-related concerns have been identified with the use of traditional hot water radiator systems, electric heating (including under pew), underfloor heating, gas heaters, including gas convector heaters and, in a ventilated space, fan convector heaters. In a ventilated space fan convectors can assist with reducing pockets of stagnant air. Just one type of heating, unlikely to be found in traditional buildings, has been identified as a risk: those that take air from one occupied space in a building and move it into another occupied space, i.e. from one room to another.
1.2 SCOTLAND
26 March (amending earlier announcements): The Scottish government have announced that places of worship may re-open (from 25 March, following the Judicial Review). The maximum size of congregation is fifty. See also the updated guidance of safe use of places of worship.
23 February 2021: The Scottish government have announced that in Scotland “Communal worship will also, we hope, restart around 5 April, albeit with restricted numbers to begin with. However, in deciding the exact date for this, we will also take account of the timing of major religious festivals, for example Easter and Passover so it may be a few days earlier when communal worship can start.” See also Scotland’s Strategic Framework Update.
1.3 WALES
Government
29 March: On 29 March Law and Religion UK published a further update regarding the position in Wales (to be read in the light of the 15 March update).
23 December: The guidance for places of worship in Wales was updated.
19 December: The Welsh Government announced it was creating an Alert Level Four applying across Wales from the morning of 20 December, which appears to match the Tier 4 restrictions applied to parts of England. There are restrictions on weddings and civil partnerships, and funerals.
3 December: Law and Religion UK published a useful note on the use of places of worship for hospitality (e.g. providing food and drink) and their use as heritage and cultural venues.
23 Nov: The Welsh Government updated its advice on community centres, culture and heritage destinations, and tourism & hospitality. (Thanks to Law and Religion for alerting us to this.)
9 Nov: From Monday November 9, it has been lawful to arrange to re-open places of worship in Wales. Various Covid-19 measures are required, including taking all reasonable measures to ensure that a distance of 2 metres is maintained between any persons on the premises (except between members of the same household or a carer and the person assisted by the carer);. There is no maximum number who may attend worship indoors: each place of worship should calculate its own safe maximum. For outdoor worship, the guidance recommends keeping to a maximum of 30 (not including children nor those working or providing voluntary services). This summary is based on the briefing paper provided by CYTUN. The Welsh Government guidance is here.
2. Other news / Gift Aid
Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage (second round). Grants for re-opening. Opens for applications 7 January, closes on 26 January. Practical guidance and pointers, applicable to any listed place of worship, from the Church of England.
Gift Aid for cash donations after re-opening, if donors combine multiple previous weeks into one gift. The Churches’ Legislation Advisory Service (CLAS) have received a helpful response from HMRC about this potential future problem which may require action in advance to explain to donors what they need to do. Details here.
3. General knowledge hubs/portals (read in conjunction with sections 4 and 5 below)
For copies of the latest law and guidance from a very wide range of sources (including government, and many denominations), see the excellent Law and Religion page.
The Heritage Alliance Coronavirus Hub and Funding Hub (includes links to emergency funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund and the second Historic England emergency reponse fund)
Faith Action collates advice and guidance relating to faith organisations and communities.
The NCVO blog and advice page aimed at voluntary organisations, and the useful guidance from the Charity Tax Group
4. Advice from specific bodies, including faith groups and denominations
For copies of the latest law and guidance from a very wide range of sources (including government, and many denominations), see the excellent Law and Religion page.
Ecclesiastical Insurance: coronavirus page and five priorities for managing temporarily closed or unoccupied churches
Historic England advice including caring for historic places
Historic Environment Scotland advice
The Church of England coronavirus page maintains guidance which is for the most part generally applicable to places of worship in England – go to the bottom of that page for documents giving guidance for different types of event. CofE financial advice from Parish Resources; bell ringing advice from the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers; rural church hub from the Arthur Rank Centre.
CYTUN – Churches Together in Wales advice (use the submenu under COVID-19)
Presbyterian Church in Wales advice
Catholic church England and Wales advice
Methodist Church advice (don’t overlook the Property Advice in the left hand column)
Muslim Council of Great Britain advice
Board of Deputies of British Jews link to advice (scroll to bottom of page)
5. Funding and other generally useful Covid-19 links
This section added January 2021. It contains links on funding (5.1), and generally useful links (5.2) related to Covid-19, and Rebuilding Heritage (5.3), a project which provides free advice, inclusing one-to-one consultancy. There may be some duplication with other material on this page.
5.1 FUNDING
The Heritage Alliance’s Funding Hub
The Heritage Alliance has created a separate Funding Hub listing potential sources of funding for heritage organisations during the Coronavirus crisis. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V6-GBdlYNmqNscLc4khj0HGhD3sSqicQ/view
Allchurches Trust: grant programme, Hope Beyond.
aimed at enabling churches and Christian charities to meet changing needs within their communities as the longer-term impact of Covid-19 becomes clearer. http://www.allchurches.co.uk/what-we-fund/hopebeyond/
The National Lottery Community Fund
National Lottery Awards for All offers funding from £300 to £10,000 to support what matters to people and communities. They’re looking to fund COVID-19 projects and will prioritise: organisations supporting people who are at high risk from COVID-19. Places of worship are eligible. https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/under10k
Ecclesiastical Insurance fundraising hub
This is a new one-stop box of practical fundraising resources specially designed to help church customers grow their fundraising activity during a time when financial pressures are at their highest.
https://www.ecclesiastical.com/church/fundraising/
Coronavirus Response – Funding Opportunities for Charities
National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) have compiled a list of funding opportunities and news relating to coronavirus. https://www.ncvo.org.uk/practical-support/information/coronavirus
Free searchable database of Coronavirus funders
The Charity Excellence website has a new, free database of funders supporting charities during the crisis. https://www.charityexcellence.co.uk/
5.2 GENERALLY USEFUL ADVICE
Denominational advice
For denominational advice, see section 4 above. The Church of England material is particularly thorough and much of it is applicable to other faith groups.
Arthur Rank Centre
The Arthur Rank Centre continues to update Together Apart: a rural church response to coronavirus: a resource hub for rural churches. This provides practical resources for rural Christians and churches to use in their own homes, churches and communities. https://arthurrankcentre.org.uk/together-apart/ and here https://www.cpo.org.uk/catalogue.aspx?cat=80329
ExploreChurches
Explore Churches have created a detailed page on the National Churches Trust website. It contains links to all current advice and support, and is updated weekly on reopening and ideas for engaging with your visitors and community https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/news/advice-reopening-your-church. Essential tourism information (in English and Welsh) can be found here https://www.explorechurches.org/covid19 They have also developed a set of free downloadable resources for you to use. They include posters, seat and hand washing / sanitising notices, prayer station notices etc https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TeJEf5BFZohBoWllDUdjzm4l99nOlUpF
FaithAction
FaithAction has been collating all the advice and guidance being released in relation to Covid-19, in particular those of relevance to faith organisations and communities. This is continually being updated https://www.faithaction.net/campaigns/coronavirus/
Ecclesiastical Insurance
Ecclesiastical Insurance has a web page which covers all their advice relating to COVID-19. This includes useful guidelines on how to look after your church building whilst it is temporarily closed or unoccupied. https://www.ecclesiastical.com/church/coronavirus/
The Disability Collaborative Network (DCN), in partnership with EMBED,
The DCN in partnership with EMBED has been working to support disabled and neurodivergent visitors and customers in the post-lockdown society. In collaboration with University of East Anglia, they have developed guidance for all sectors and supports all museums and heritage organisations in offering practical, action-based recommendations. https://embed.org.uk/covid-19-reopening
5.3 REBUILDING HERITAGE
Free advice and one-to-one consultancy
Rebuilding Heritage is a free programme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and co-ordinated by the Heritage Alliance, that is providing support to individuals and organisations to help them to respond and adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a two-monthly cycle of applications for one-to-one support. Applications to the programme take around 20-30 minutes and are completed through a questionnaire on the website: https://rebuildingheritage.org.uk/bookingnow/
In addition, Webinar resources are also now available on the programme website at https://rebuildingheritage.org.uk/resources/
If you would like to receive updates on the programme development please sign up to the mailing list at https://rebuilding-heritage.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/rebuilding-heritage-mailing-list
6. Reports and calls for evidence & surveys
The DCMS Select Committee first REPORT on the impact of Covid-19 has been issued. Evidence regarding historic religious buildings was given to the Committee by us (the HRBA), our parent body (The Heritage Alliance), the Church of England, the Association of English Cathedrals, and the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust.
Historic England REPORT on its survey
National Lottery Heritage Fund REPORT on its survey