The fourth ‘Fit for Function’ Church Buildings Conference took place earlier this month.
Organised by the West Midlands dioceses along with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, the event was held in St James’ Church in Norton Juxta Kempsey on the edge of Worcester. Over 40 people attended from parishes across the Midlands (and even as far away from The Wirral)!
The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Volunteers, Visitors and Keeping your church open’. There were sessions on community uses for church buildings, recruiting and retaining volunteers, Friends’ groups, church tourism and insurance. Alongside speakers from both the Church of England, delegates also heard from The Plunkett Foundation, the Manager of Harvington Hall and those who run the Men’s Shed in Worcester.
Feedback on the conference was very positive with those attending commenting favourably on the variety of speakers and the quality and helpfulness of the presentations. Diocesan Church Buildings Officer, Mark Carter, said: “We were delighted with how this year’s Fit for Function conference went and we are already thinking about how we can build on this success with next year’s event.”
