The list

Christ Church Adlington was build between in the 1830s for a cost of Â£1,560. It was one of the first major churches in the area.

In 1975 Christ Church held it’s last service and closed down. In 1981 the building was sold and became the Sharju Indian restaurant. I understand the food is good.

Christ Church Adlington is one of hundreds of Anglican churches that have been made â€œredundantâ€ in England.

Here’s the list for 1970-2004. It’s frightening. Ninety-five pages of churches closed down. That’s 95 pages in case you missed it.

What do you do with a â€œredundantâ€ church?

There’s a list for that too:

Demolition

Sale for residential use

Use as a monument

Community use

Village hall

Storage

Sale to the Greek Orthodox Church

or the Elim Pentecostals

or the Seventh Day Adventists

or the Assemblies of God

or to the United Pentecostal Church

or to or the Church of God of Prophecy

Museum

Violin workshop

Night shelter

Sports centre

Restaurant

Nursing home

I’m only up to page 9 of ninety-five pages (that’s 95 pages) of closed churches. . . but you get the idea.

What’s the point?

The point is, â€œWhy?â€

Anglican

By: Steve | 04/09/08 | Trends | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

2 Responses to “The list” »»

Ray

Comment by Ray | 04/14/08 at 10:41 am

HI Steve,

I found it hard to believe, so I downloaded the list for myself. By my calculations there have been around 2000 churches closed in the past 40 years. This is such a sad list. It’s a challenge to all who are part of the Christian movement, especially in the west. Your question is so pertinent. Why? At the same time I want to be motivated by the success of the gospel. I suppose, if you can take anything from this, you could say that at one time there were 2000 more Anglican churches, and that as a movement, it was once flourishing. What lessons can we learn from its history as a whole. Ray.
Steve

Comment by Steve | 04/14/08 at 4:33 pm

Ray, thanks for the calculation. I think the only way forward is to confront the brutal facts in the context of faith. Steve

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The list

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