www.churchtourismstudy.com practice and research revd nigel lacey rector benefice of west wycombe
TRANSCRIPT
Currently visited
460 churches
Sent out 700 + questionairres
Recently looking at
Forward in Faith Churches
Small Pilgrim Places Network
Evangelical Churches
Methods
Anglican Parishes churches in England
Visits – Cotswolds, Norfolk, Essex, Suffolk, Somerset, London,Cumbria, Devon, Derbyshire, Dorset & few others.Standard criteria – record cards, open?, signage, leaflets etc available, provision for children, visitors book, prayers, candles, look up website, decide a rating, churchmanshipAim for consistency and objectivity + ‘calling card’Looking for -Good practiceQuality of welcome‘Tourists to pilgrims’
RatingsVery poor – locked, no indication of when or if openPoor – open at least sometimes but no, or little effort made to welcome visitorsOkay – open but nothing to say it is. Guide book but little else. What does church feel like and look like to a visitor?Good – some thought and effort to welcome visitors. Information about Christian faith. Prayer board and or votive stand. Some interpretation of building.Very Good- decent guide books. Something aimed at children. Signs that say open & welcome visitors. Material about Christian faith. Pictures of people – living church. Prayer provision – taken seriously.Excellent – a lot of effort given to visitors. All of above but done very well. Perhaps friendly stewards? Mainly bigger churches but not always.
Why does churchmanship affect visitor rating?Evangelical churches – sit light to building
- music and AV equipment- ministering to congregation / retreated into- often have no idea what I am talking about- less to see/ do – eg. Candles- 'purity'
Forward in Faith parishes – beleaqered – major survey
Serving Christ means serving others- Church as 'club' – who's church is it?- telling stories- being open to others- exercising hospitality-enabling spiritual encounters – risky as we not in control!
Who are our visitors?1. Church Enthusiasts – small but very active group. Visit lots churches. Needs
– good guides, knowledgeable stewards.
2. Geneologists – visit a few places but look in great detail. Needs – burial records, churchyard plans (always well thumbed). Some areas get lots of these eg Cotswolds, Cornwall ?
3. Curious/ Casual visitors – big group. See church open & go in. Probably not sure what they are looking at + for. Impressions & atmosphere count for much for this group. Needs – good welcome, interpretation, history, stories, mementoes. Can be very important if near a tourist attraction. Lots of potential.
4. Locals – by far biggest group. Won’t write in visitors book – why should they? ‘It’s our church’.
Needs – welcoming place. Somewhere to leave prayers & light candles of similar. Space to be quiet & reflect & pray – materials to help with this.