Coronavirus (covid-19)
Last updated 30 July 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
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 website, 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
16 July 2021. The Government produced new guidance for the safe use of places of worship applicable from 19 July in England, and withdrew its previous ‘Celebrating religious festivals during Coronavirus’. The advice links to dedicated guidance on funerals and commemorative events, weddings, receptions etc, events and attractions, and other specific guidance. Most or all denonimations and faith groups revised their guidance. See below under Section 4.
1.2 SCOTLAND
19 July 2021. The Scottish Government is currently imposing restrictions at Level 0, with the hope that restrictions will be further lifted on 9 August. The Church of Scotland and other faith groups and denominations have offered new guidance, for which see Section 4 below.
1.3 WALES
8-21 July 2021. The Welsh Government is currently imposing Level 1 restrictions. It is hoped that Level 0 will take effect on 7 August. Guidance for re-opening places of worship was revised on 8 July, and for weddings, etc on 5 July. The Church in Wales and other faith groups and denominations have offered new guidance (see Section 4 below).
2. Other news / Gift Aid
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.
Faith Action collates advice and guidance relating to faith organisations and communities.
The NCVO blog and advice page aimed at voluntary organisations.
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
For the Church of England, on 16 July 2021 the Bishop of London urged caution in re-opening churches. The Church of England has wide-ranging guidance, widely applicable. 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
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 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 (of various dates)
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
Covid-19, Churches and Communities The Churches, COVID-19 and Communities research project was set up to provide detailed data from a wide range of respondents to support national and local policy and decision-making in the face of COVID-19
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