Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Lockdown: Church Attendance

Thursday 21 January 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Church is grateful to the Government for not imposing another national closure of religious buildings.
  • Over 7,000 people have attended the Church's digital training to stream services on various platforms.
  • The Parish Giving Scheme and online giving options are available to help churches maintain income.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alexander Stafford
Religion & Faith
Context

Churches faced challenges in providing services to parishioners both physically and online during a strict nationwide lockdown.

Question

What additional support has been provided to the clergy and churches to help people attend church in person or online during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown?

Answer from Andrew Selous

The Church is grateful to the Government for not imposing another national closure of religious buildings. It is right that parishes take local decisions on what to offer. There were nearly 36 million viewings of the Church's Christmas “Comfort and Joy” series. For those who prefer the telephone, the DailyHope worship has received 350,000 free calls.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not address specific support measures or financial assistance directly asked about.

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Q2 Danny Kruger Reform East Wiltshire
Religion & Faith
Context

Concerns over the ability to deliver live church services online were raised due to potential lack of skills among vicars.

Question

Does my hon. Friend agree that the delivery of online live church services is enormously important, and—we must be frank—that this is not a skill that might come naturally to many vicars? Does he agree that the Church of England should make an absolute priority the provision of online resources, and the training of vicars and church teams to deliver them?

Answer from Andrew Selous

Indeed I do. Over 7,000 people have now attended the Church's digital training, equipping parishes across the country to stream services on a variety of different platforms. My own rector has now been commended for her YouTube skills by eight-year-olds in her benefice.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q3 Alexander Stafford
Religion & Faith
Context

Many churches have lost income from offertory collections and fundraising events, putting maintenance and repairs at risk.

Question

Rother Valley's churches have lost a great deal of income from the in-person offertory collections and fundraising events, putting church maintenance and repairs at risk, including the much-needed repairs to St Simon and St Jude church in Thurcroft. Does my hon. Friend share my concern regarding the black hole in local churches' budgets and potential delays to repairs, and will he work with churches to ensure that they have what they need to survive?

Answer from Andrew Selous

My hon. Friend raises a really important point. I draw his attention to the Parish Giving Scheme, which people can do by direct debit, and to various online giving options. Of course, the commissioners have provided tens of millions of pounds to help churches.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not commit to working with churches on repairs or addressing delays directly asked about.

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