Lancashire Methodist District

The Home Office has announced that the funding applications deadline for the Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme has been extended to Monday 4 September 2023. Funding is available to help protect places of worship, including churches and chapels, is available for physical protective security such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure fencing. To apply for funding, applicants should submit evidence of their vulnerability and experience of hate crime. The Home Office will notify successful applicants from November 2023.  Applications can be made online here.

SAFE  (Security Advice For Everyone) is running a free webinar to guide intending applicants through the process, on Monday 21 August at 12.30 pm.

You can register here.  There are also some useful resources on SAFE 's website.

Charities and community organisations working with vulnerable people are being invited by the

Government to apply for a share of a Department of Culture, Media and Sport support package.

The fund will support frontline charities and community organisations providing services such as the provision of food, emergency provisions, shelter, safe spaces, warmth and financial or housing advice. Organisations can apply for grants worth between £10,000 and £75,000 to cover project and core costs, including office rent, utilities, staff and volunteers, from now until the end of March.

Applications will be accepted until 16 October 2023. Further details on eligibility and the applications process can be found on The National Lottery Community Fund website, in its role as the intermediary grant maker.

The month of September is the Season of Creation or Creationtide, and this is a great time of year to encourage those within our churches to think about the environment and caring for God’s world.  The Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) have gathered some great resources to help people and churches to engage with the Season of Creation.

Churchyards provide thousands of acres of green oases in communities across the country. Last month’s Churches Count on Nature (CCoN), in which A Rocha UK was a key partner, was a fantastic opportunity to help people understand their local environment and explore the contribution that churches can make to monitoring and conserving wildlife.

Between 3 and 11 June, over 400 CCoN events took place across England and Wales, with churches hosting activities to record the mammals, birds, wildflowers, insects, and fungi in their outdoor spaces. Many also used CCoN as an opportunity to reach out to their community and extended their activities to include photography competitions, history talks and picnics. You can see some great photos of a variety of events here.

Llanidan Church in Brynsiencyn on Anglesey started their event with a service that focused on the environment and caring for their churchyard.  After an opportunity to browse a selection of relevant books and leaflets over a cuppa, they got counting!

Over 30 people took part, and the lists were compiled not only in Welsh and English but French too, as there was a Breton gentleman taking part! Almost 80 species of wildflowers were identified, as well as insects and birds. We also discovered there were a variety of different names that the same flowers were known by, especially in Welsh.

Delyth Higgins, Eco Church Officer for Wales, said, ‘It’s been encouraging to see so many churches all across Wales engage with CCoN this year. I’m sure the events will have helped raise the profile of churchyards and church land as areas rich in wildlife. As people have experienced this connection with nature, maybe for the first time, I hope they will continue to appreciate, manage and protect it in their own little patch’.    

CCoN records were submitted by each church to the National Biodiversity Network. The data will aid our understanding of what is happening to the wildlife around churches, and this will help us to take more targeted action for nature’s recovery. A summary of the records will be published shortly.

CCoN is jointly run by A Rocha UK and Caring for God’s Acre together with the Church of England and the Church in Wales. CCoN is happening again from 8-16 June 2024 –  we hope you can be part of it!

Each summer, the skies over Salisbury are visited by one of our most vibrant and dramatic seasonal visitors - Swifts.  Unfortunately, these iconic birds are in dramatic decline. Between 1995 and 2021 UK breeding numbers decreased by 58%. They were placed on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern in December 2021.

Salisbury Methodist Church have just added a Swift box to their church to encourage the nesting of Swifts on their building. They are working in collaboration with Salisbury and Wilton Swifts (SAWS), a group based in Salisbury and Wilton to promote and protect the Common Swift. The box is now in-situ, but no sign of occupants yet!  

If anyone is interested to learn more about sourcing and erecting the boxes, you can contact Paul Butler.

Photographs (copyright Paul Butler)

The semi-ancient woodland at the Amelia Trust Farm, near Cardiff, is an area of about 160 acres with several trails, a pond, a memorial garden and fields that are rented. Amelia Trust Farm was opened in 1992 in partnership with the Methodist Church of Wales. Take a walk with us through the incredible grounds.  

Click here to read more.

TWELVE years ago, a huge question was asked of Trinity Methodist Church. Is there a future for Methodism in Clitheroe?

Fast forward to May 2023 and the church hall is packed to the rafters at the monthly Coffee Stop, manned by an enormous team of volunteers from the congregation, and attended by the community.

The answer was clearly YES and Trinity Methodist Church, built in 1868, is now a bustling hub serving more than 40 community groups and charities.

So where did it all begin?

Click here to read the read of the story.

It’s estimated that one in five people in the UK have a disability, yet church life rarely reflects that. To begin to address that issue, churches are being encouraged to join in with Disability Awareness Sunday on 17 September (or an alternative day of their choice).

A free resource pack is available from Through the Roof.

Fundraising for church building projects

Church building projects can be transformative endeavours, providing a dedicated space for worship, fellowship, and community engagement.  Explore the key considerations and strategies for funding building projects and learn how to ensure your project gets the green light.

Funding building projects

Protecting your church from cyber risks

Cyber crime is a daily struggle for both individuals and organisations.  Understanding common cyber risks and how to protect against them may prevent your church from falling victim to an attack.

Read more about cyber safety

What you need to know about electrical safety

Fires caused by faulty wiring in churches can be prevented.

Make sure you are aware of the steps you need to take to prevent fire or injury due to electrics at your church.  

Electrical wiring

Is your bicycle covered by your home insurance?

Learn more about bicycle cover on our home insurance policy and ways you can protect yours from theft both at home and away.  

Protecting bicycles

Summer has arrived for 19 Methodist projects

Over £300,000 has been awarded to Methodist churches and organisations in the latest round of funding from Benefact Trust’s Methodist Grants Programme. For the successful projects, August is looking brighter with the news of this exciting funding boost.

Find out more

Ensure you are working safely at height

Falls when working at height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality.  HSE's annual fatality statistics reported that there were 40 fatal injuries caused by falling from height in 2022/23.  Make sure you take the necessary precautions and visit HSE's working at height website which includes:

• Key messages to follow before working from height
• Some common work at height myths
• Guidance on the safe use of ladders and stepladders
• Working from Height Publications library

TCC can help with all aspects of funding church projects, from developing a suitable business plan, to advice on which funders to apply to, all the way through to drafting applications and monitoring project outcomes. Currently, their funding report features some excellent funds for those looking for to take on lay workers and paid staff. Click here to learn more.

The £42 million government Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme has undergone a digital transformation with the development of a new website and application portal.

• The new website makes it easier to navigate and find the information - from scheme eligibility to application guidance. The website sits on the gov.uk domain, providing reassurance this is an official and trusted website.
• The new application portal will enable applicants to apply online. This will follow the same familiar format as the PDF form, but will be easier to process than downloading and completing a physical document. The option to use the old PDF will remain, but the application portal is planned to be more efficient - with all the information and attachments uploaded and submitted in one place.

Please note that the website is now easier to use and the online portal is in addition to the paper-based method of application. Click here to view.

Applying for a Replacement Project can be beneficial to Managing Trustees who wish to use the funds from the sale of a Methodist property to fund another project.  To learn more, click here and look under the 'Replacement Project' tab.  

Listed Building Advisory Committee (LBAC) Meeting Dates:  

• 10 October 2023 - Deadline for paper is 12 September 2023
• 23 January 2024 - Deadline for paper is 31 December 2023

Supporting the Methodist Connexion

Methodist Insurance has been protecting the property of the Methodist Church since 1872.  We are a Public Limited Company owned by shareholders and independent of the Methodist Church. The company operates like a mutual by returning most of our profits back to our community in the form of a significant financial contribution to the Methodist Connexion.  Find out more.