tourism
National Churchwatch
Ecclesiastical, the church insurers state on their website:
If at all possible, your church should be left open during the day for those who wish to pray, or who wish to find a place for quiet contemplation.
It should also be open for tourists and other visitors with an interest in historic buildings who find it very disappointing when a church is locked, particularly if they have travelled some way
Nick Tolson of National Churchwatch is sponsored by Ecclesiastical, the church insurers, and he delivers free of charge a seminar on security advice for churches, clergy and people working within the churches. He gives advice relating to physical security, church security strategy and personal safety.
Nick can be contacted via the National Churchwatch website on:
http://www.nationalchurchwatch.com, which also has some useful downloads.
Open Church Network
This highly successful project that has seen sixteen churches working together has attracted international interest. Strongly supported by Northern Marches Cymru, the network has received substantial funding that has provided:
- benches, signage and litter bins for the churchyards;
- interpretation boards and display cabinets for the interior of the buildings;
- excellent literature in the form of information packs, and a ‘Discover’ trail around the churches and their local communities;
- sponsorship on training courses for Welcomers, newsletter writers, and safety / security, for visiting church tourism conferences;
- support with publicity and funding for participating in Wrexham Science and Arts Festivals;
- education packs for use with school pupils.
The Open Church Network also has a website: http://www.openchurchnetwork.co.uk/ on which all sixteen churches has information about service times and events, and some churches have, or will have, graveyard information to enable people to research ancestors on-line.