We welcomed over 80 people to St Bartholomew’s, Kirkwhelpington to celebrate and share the work of the Rural Churches for Everyone (RCfE) project, on 9 November 2022.
You can watch the speakers from the RCfE Conference here:
Archdeacon Catherine
Yvonne Conchie
Rev Dr Claire Maxim
Rt Revd Dr. Dagmar Winter, Bishop of Huntingdon
As part of RCfE a number of online information sessions were offered. Please be aware that the session were delivered in autumn 2022. All information was correct at the time of recording. You can watch recordings here:
An introduction to… National Lottery Heritage Fund
This event has already happened, watch a recording here.
NLHF is the UK's largest dedicated funder of heritage, distributing over £300million a year to create positive and lasting change for people and places across the UK. Jodi Larder, Senior Engagement Manager (North Area) will join us to tell us more about the kind of projects NLHF can fund and answer your questions.
An introduction to… Benefact Trust
This event has already happened, watch a recording here.
Benefact Trust (formerly All Churches Trust) exists to make a positive difference to people's lives by funding, guiding and celebrating the work of churches and Christian charities; empowering the most vulnerable and giving people, communities and places a renewed opportunity to flourish. Join Andrew Bass, Grants Officer to hear more about the grants programmes currently available.
An introduction to… Champing
The idea of champing - or camping in historic churches - was developed by the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT). It allows guests to experience a night in an ancient building and is well suited to rural churches where walkers and cyclists can take advantage of the refuge offered by a rural church as part of their holiday or trip, while contributing financially to the upkeep of the church.
If you are interested in becoming a Champing™ church you can contact Fiona, Champing Business Development Officer for CCT, at champing@thecct.org.uk for an overview of what champing involves, including the practicalities of setting up your church for champing, and to answer any questions you have.
An introduction to… National Churches Trust
This event has already happened, watch a recording here.
National Churches Trust works with churches across the UK to help maintain our wonderful historic places of worship and keep them thriving today, and tomorrow. NCT’s vision is that church buildings across the UK are well maintained, open to everyone, sustainable and valued. Join Nigel Mills, Head of Church Support to hear about the support available from NCT.
An introduction to… Warm Hubs
This event has already happened, watch a recording here.
The Warm Hubs scheme has been developed by Community Action Northumberland to create and support places within the local community where people can be assured of finding a safe, warm and friendly environment in which to enjoy refreshments, social activity, information and advice and the company of other people. Christine Nicholls explains how CAN can help you generate interest and recruit new people to be involved, enabling the church building to better serve the community and increase the number of people involved in keeping the church building sustainable.
If you are interested in becoming a Warm Hub you can contact Christine at: christinenicholls@ca-north.org.uk
Solar-Power and Battery Storage for Community Buildings Including Churches
This event has already happened, watch a recording here.
Andy Dean, Chief Executive at CAN (Community Action Northumberland), provides an overview of the Northumberland solar-powered community buildings project.
This project is designed to help Northumberland’s village halls, churches and other community buildings to reduce their carbon emissions, save money on energy bills and support those buildings that operate as Emergency Rest Centres to do so even when mains power is cut off. Led by CAN with support from the Rural Design Centre and the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (Newcastle University), the project is nearing the end of its feasibility stage. Funded by the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF), the feasibility covers:
• Detailed system design for an initial 19 buildings, including planning permission where required.
• Initial feasibility work on an additional 20 community buildings.
• Set up of a community energy co-operative to raise capital funds and manage the installations.
• Utilisation of an energy management system to maximise the potential from the generated power.
Five rural Northumberland churches are involved in the first phase of the project. Andy will outline the detail of the project, the anticipated timeline and opportunities for more buildings, including churches, to join in.