UK: Ministers to hold summit on church closure crisis

The Government will hold a top-level summit next month to tackle the crisis facing Britain's churches.
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
22 Nov 2008

Ministers are to examine how extra funding can be given to churches, with one in five of them under threat of being closed.

Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, said there would be a new drive to make them central to community regeneration, backed up with financial support.

His comments follow The Sunday Telegraph's Save our Churches campaign, which has called on the Government to increase grants to churches and allow them greater freedom to make the buildings suitable for community use. The campaign has been backed by politicians, celebrities and leading church figures, including Joanna Lumley, Jools Holland, David Cameron and Archbishop Rowan Williams. the rest