
Making changes
Our church buildings are a very visible witness of our faith in the community. However, worship styles and the needs of communities have changed since many of our churches were built.
If you want to make changes to your church building, to better meet mission and/or community needs, you will need a Faculty. This is where permission to carry out work is given by the Chancellor of the Diocese. His decision takes into account feedback from consultees and the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC). It is worth taking time to understand the Faculty process, to help your application proceed as smoothly as possible.
All applications are made through the Online Faculty System. Support on using this is available through the Church Buildings Office.
You can find further information on making changes to your church building by using the links below.
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Faculty permission | Temporary Minor Reordering Licences | Statements of Significance and Need | The Diocesan Advisory Committee | |||
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The Registry | Celebrating our church heritage | Useful links and resources | ||||
A step by step guide
The Diocese of Hereford’s excellent ‘Crossing the Threshold’ toolkit will take you through each step of a large project – from developing your vision and getting together a project group, to seeing the potential of your building and appointing an architect, through to developing a plan and delivering your project.
Below are links to documents that will help you consider ways in which they might be adapted to further worship and outreach in your community.
Re-ordering
Guidance on installing WCs and kitchens
DAC guidance on pew removal and new seating in churches
Guidance on carpets in churches
If you would like to see examples of completed projects, of varying scale and type, please go to the Case Studies page by clicking here.
For lots more useful information visit the “Churches” section on the Church of England’s ChurchCare website.
Back to ‘Your church building and churchyard‘.