News
The Prince holds a reception for the Historic Churches Preservation Trust
25th April 2007
The Prince of Wales paid tribute today to the individuals who are helping to preserve churches in communities all over Britain and spoke of the "massive challenge" ahead.
At the reception for the Historic Churches Preservation Trust at Clarence House, The Prince’s official residence in London, His Royal Highness thanked individuals and the Trust itself for their "truly remarkable and inspiring" achievements and commitment to community churches.
The Prince of Wales is a practising Anglican and attends church regularly with The Duchess of Cornwall. Click here to read more about The Prince's personal faith.
His Royal Highness is Patron of a number of organisations that help maintain the vibrancy of church communities and preserve places of worship such as Music in Country Churches, Friends of Exeter Cathedral, Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, the Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust, Norfolk Churches Trust, Round Tower Churches Society, Salisbury Cathedral Trust and the Wells Cathedral Preservation Trust.
Guests at the reception included representatives from the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and individuals from across the country who have made a huge difference to community churches in places such as Leicestershire, Dorset and Liverpool.
The Prince gave a speech at the reception and spoke of the challenges ahead.
He said: "Keeping places of worship, right across the country, alive and well is a massive challenge. There are 28,000 in England alone, of which over half are listed.”
"There is the enormous task of maintaining and sustaining church fabric; each building, grand or humble, being an individual place with its own singular workmanship, tradition and history."
He also spoke of the "increasingly complex" tasks of management and fundraising.
"Finally there is the task of ensuring that the building is there for people - for its congregation certainly, but also for the wider community in which it is set."
The Prince praised the "often unseen and unheard" work of the individuals fighting to keep their community churches going.
"I am immensely inspired by, and grateful for, the outstanding commitment, innovation and determination of thousands of volunteers."
Among the guests at the reception was Sheila Hargreaves who runs a laundry for locals at the new St Cleopas Church in Toxteth, Liverpool.
Known locally as "Auntie Sheila", she said: "We found our community was beginning to split up. There were lots of bad characters, drugs, thieving and robbing.
"We thought, how can be bring the community in? And we decided to set up a cafe and laundry.
"People are amazed with what we have done. We are getting people over the doorstep of the church who wouldn't usually come."
Mrs Hargreaves said she wished The Prince had visited the church café when he was in Liverpool on Monday.
"I told him we would have laid on a meal for him and he said he would have to come back."
Two other guests at the reception, Lois Gribble and Peter Denwell, from Dorset, were involved in setting up blood pressure checks at their rural Methodist church in Uploders.
"The Christian method is one of service so we offer whatever service we can," said Miss Gribble, a local Methodist preacher.
She is now hoping to set up courses in the church for people with long term disabilities.
She said: "The main buildings in our village are the pub and the church so we called our fundraising campaign 'The Other Public House'."
Jan Kenchington who set up a wildflower churchyard project at St John the Baptist in Hope Bagot, Shropshire, praised The Prince for his interest in community churches.
"It's terrific. He's a very sensitive man," she said.
"We've got to look after our planet and our heritage and he does a brilliant, brilliant job."