London evicts congregation from church

As the figures show, London is bucking the national trend and churchgoing is up. This is a small blip however in the overall decline that has seen Church of England attendance slump to 880,000, a figure that should be rememered by all who read the Anglican Communion Office's oft-touted boast of up to 27 million Anglicans in Britain's established church. The Anglican Communion starts to look a lot smaller when proper attendance figures are accounted. But perhaps the London Diocese's success explains why, or is even explained by, its recent tendency to close churches and force reluctant congregations to move elsewhere. Earlier this year the Welsh church of St Benet's was shut. And now the unfortunate souls who liked to worship at St Mark's Mayfair have been evicted. Lady Sainsbury was at the church for its last day before lock-out. Her speech is reproduced below. The London diocese wants to sell the church to George Hammer, who already lives in its vicarage, next door. He developed The Sanctuary at Covent Garden and wants to turn St Mark's into a centre for well being, with a spa included.

Susie Sainsbury said:

'I became President of Save St Marks Action Group Because I feel passionately that what is happening here – to this community and to this building - is totally wrong and wrong-headed of those promoting it.

 'We are here to protest at the Diocese’s failure to try to keep this wonderful building, and even worse wanting to evict a thriving congregation and then to be willing to sell it for a wellness centre - pampering for the few.

'The congregation here has been serving the local community for the last 14 years. In that time they have been doing the things that Social Services can’t do; they teach children to avoid getting involved in knife crime; they visit people who are alone; they open their doors to the distraught and needy.

'This building was dedicated to the glory of God to be used as a place of worship, built on land given by Grosvenor for the local community – now a scarce community resource. We deplore the way the Diocese is treating it – as no more than real estate – to be sold for 30 pieces of silver, and we deplore the way the Diocese have continued to extend the contract with Mr Hammer. English Heritage regard this church as one of the most important buildings in Mayfair.

'It has seen anti-slavery debates. Eisenhower worshipping here, D-Day landings planned and prayed over here; society weddings, work with the poor and marginalised. The work in the community is not over, the needs are still here.

'We now appeal to our local Councillors to ask the serious unanswered questions that still surround the planning application. When the scheme from Hammer Holdings comes before the Planning Committee on 13 November will you ask: -

'Why has no viability appraisal or business case been submitted. Why have applicants refused to give assurances that they will fund the repair and restoration of this grade 1 building?

'Has the Diocese put pressure on HTB not to put forward more detailed proposals?

'At the heart of this issue is a Grade 1 listed church of exceptional quality – it can and should be maintained as a place of worship – that surely is the objective that should be shared by Grosvenor Estates, the Diocese, the congregation , the community and the City Council.'

Comments

[Gladiatrix]

As anyone who has worked in the City will know, whenever a development is being planned the CofE is always keen to hold its hand out. The result of this is that all the churches in the City have lost their churchyards, and several churches are only visible as such from a particular angle. Others look like shops and it is only when one looks closely that a church can be seen.

To make matters worse the money raised from these sales has not been spent on the surviving churches, with the result that many of them are filthy and covered in centuries of dirt.

I don't remember ever seeing a church procession through the City, even on the really important times such as Easter.

[Jim]

Ruth, you're being rather disingenuous here. If you check out the Save St. Mark's web site, you will see that the CofE congregation of St. Mark's ceased to exist in 1974, and the building was shuttered until an evangelical church leased it. By its own admission, that congregation was unable to fulfill the terms of its lease and maintain the building.

Far from being a case of the diocese closing down a congregation, this is the diocese trying to find the best use for a building that has not been used by the diocese for over 30 years.

While I hate to see an architectural and historical gem be redeveloped, the church does need to get rid of some of its real estate and get on with the real mission of the church.

[Phil Martin]

'At the heart of this issue is a Grade 1 listed church of exceptional quality' - Lady Sainsbury

Not really. At the heart of this issue is the fact that people like George Hammer and no doubt most of those who will use his centre have no idea what true "well being" is.

Buildings are immaterial, if you'll excuse the non-pun.

[Robert Ian Williams]

This church was the scene of an Anglican controversy in the 1890s... the vicar re-married a divorcee in a Church wedding. It led to the resignation of an Anglo-catholic clergy man, who made a public protest.

How ironic that over a century later , the same diocese has the Gay blessing controversy and the very church of the divorce controversy is closed down!

[cp36]

I worship in a Cathedral which was built according to the same Gothic architecture as the English cathedrals and it is full of people every Sunday. It is just renovated and repainted and, last Sunday, as we walked down the aisle after the recessional hymn, a gentleman from New Zealand said the cathedral was beautiful.

I replied, "Yes, I was just thinking 0f the great Cathedrals in England and I wish all of them will once again be filled with people."

[j]

I think we do have to ask the question: how much would the sale raise, and would the diocese apply it to good works, or to some other purpose such as paying the debts of other, even more luxurious, premises such as episcopal palaces?

And exactly how big is the congregation, and how close is the nearest church of sympathetic theology?

[David Cohen]

It seems the diocese has a straight choice between spending large sums on maintaining this building, or using its limited resources elsewhere to support the ministry of living congregations.

Perhaps if St Mark's wealthy congregation had cared enough about it, and put their hands into their very deep pockets, they could have saved it. Most of these buildings began with generous contributions from the very rich, but when it comes to maintaining them it suddenly becomes someone else's responsibility.

Good work by the Diocese of London - getting its priorities right!

[George Parr]

'Lady' Sainsbury: "We are here to protest at the Diocese’s failure to try to keep this wonderful building... and then to be willing to sell it for a wellness centre - pampering for the few."

...er, the few like Mrs Sainsbury and her dwindling congregation, whose activities she possibly expects to be funded, whatever the cost and lack of viability, presumably, by somebody else?

[Green]

Support the anti-faith school campaign. It helps parents dealing with individual schools and with the larger task of ending faith schools.

http://www.justgiving.com/faithschools

[Louise]

The Anglican Church is England's established church not Britain's.

[Pete Moss]

Turn it into a spa and 'centre of wellbeing'? That sounds like a change from following Christian supersititions to quack superstitions to me.

[Phil Craig]

What's the mention of HTB about, then? Were they going to plant a congregation there?

[Brad King]

"27 million Anglicans in Britain's established church."
Ruth Gledhill, like so many English people, Doesn't seem to know the difference between Britain and England. Britain does not have an established Church. The Anglican Church is England's established church.