Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham archdeacons visitation news Spring 2015 - issue 9 Dear churchwardens Transforming churches building communities of grace. Someone once coined the phrase evangelism in stone to describe our church buildings. They meant that simply by their physical presence they recalled the presence of God and his Church to our communities. While we are aware there are many fine examples of this in our nation and in this diocese, we are also aware that there is another side to the story. Although Lord Harries is probably right that our church buildings have never been better cared for, this is at some cost. Churchwardens are at the forefront of that, and may this be an opportunity to thank you for that aspect of your ministry. around us we need to show we have that transformed life personally and in our places of worship. Building communities of grace is a challenge for all of us. Grace is that attribute of God in us that shows itself in lives that go beyond the normal capacity of human endeavour. Love, mercy and compassion are attributes of grace. Churches that are grace-filled feel different. There is a tangible sense that, despite the difficulties we all face, God is active and present changing lives. It is no small thing to accept the transforming power of God s grace. In our ministry together we are seeking this next year to see how our buildings currently do help this happen. If they are inhibitors in any way, we will ask what we can do about that. Thank you again for all you do. Here s to an eventful and gracious year of joining together in the Transforming Mission of God. During the next twelve months I hope the words at the top of this article become familiar. We all know that our buildings must be more than just a physical reality in our villages, towns and cities. The Church at the heart of the community will, in part, be symbolised by our buildings. If they are as fit for purpose as they were when they were first built, they need to be centres of communal life that are accessible and places from which the good news of Jesus Christ may be proclaimed in word and deed. Our churches need to be transformed themselves to achieve this aim. That may be by reordering the interior or rethinking the way in which the building may best be a communal hub of both activity and prayerful reflection. If we are to hope to bring the gospel of transformed lives to those The Venerable Sarah Clark Archdeacon of Nottingham The Venerable David Picken Archdeacon of Newark Produced and printed by www.ecclesiastical.com/churchmatters
Hiring of church premises to organisations... Were it not for the nation s church halls and premises, thousands of clubs, societies and groups would struggle to find venues for their meetings and events perhaps even be forced to close. Concerts, yoga classes, fun days, even business meetings, are just some of the groups which regularly take advantage of churches willingness to rent their premises to so-called outside users. It is a valuable service the Anglican Church performs in return for useful income but a service which can create issues if not managed carefully. We are aware of an organisation that hired a bouncy castle for a fun day at their premises. During the event, a young child was injured on the inflatable and an insurance claim made. Only then did it transpire that the bouncy castle s operators did not have the correct insurance. When the matter went to court, the judge ruled that, in the absence of any insurance covering the operator, the organisation itself was liable and had to pay a significant liability claim. It s a sad story, says Kevin Thomas, corporate client services manager for leading church insurer Ecclesiastical, but it s a good example of what can happen if a church forgets to check that outside users have the necessary insurance of their own. This is one of the areas we get a lot of queries about. Some trustees think the church s own insurance will cover groups; others ask their users if they have insurance but don t see the paperwork, which is very important. Based on Kevin and the Ecclesiastical team s experience, these are the key points to consider should you be asked to hire out your church premises. The difference between formal and informal users The rule of thumb for most outside user groups is that they need to have their own public liability insurance. Ecclesiastical s Parishguard policy only provides insurance cover for private hirers and what the policy describes as occasional noncommercial use. This means weddings, birthday parties, social events and one-off events like a meeting but only if no other insurance is in force. For example, some home insurance provides cover for parties. Any group that is formal in nature meets regularly, has an organiser or a committee or its users pay fees must have public liability insurance of its own that will cover damage to the church s property and injury to its members or users. Have a written booking agreement Whenever the premises are hired, a formal booking agreement setting out the conditions of hire should be signed by both parties and kept safely. This is a legal document, so needs to be drawn up after consultation with the church s legal advisers. Ecclesiastical recommends that the agreement states clearly that outside users must have their own insurance and that a copy of the insurance certificate will need to be seen in advance. Check the outside user s insurance cover Just because an outside user says they have insurance does not mean they do, or that it is the right type of cover. A church representative must see proof of insurance and confirm it is appropriate before the group uses the premises. Failure to do so could leave the church open to legal challenge. Are your premises safe for this activity? Although your venue may be suitable for a weekly youth club or business meeting, it may not be appropriate for an energetic keep-fit class. Considering the safety of your premises when renting them should form part of your church s health and safety policy. To help you, Ecclesiastical has produced health and safety guidance notes and a model health and safety policy template, which can be downloaded from the company s website at www.ecclesiastical.com/churchmatters. Printed copies are also available by calling Ecclesiastical s customer services team on 0845 777 3322. Safeguarding of Children & Vulnerable Adults Hiring church premises to a children s group is very common. Your PCC should refer to diocesan safeguarding guidelines, and the diocesan safeguarding child protection adviser for advice and guidance. Ecclesiastical strongly recommends that the PCC obtain written confirmation from any group involving children that it has a safeguarding policy. Renting out your church premises should not be a laborious chore, but it does need to be done properly to avoid turning a minor moneyspinner into an expensive problem. If you have any queries, or would like more information, you can contact Ecclesiastical s customer services team on 0845 777 3322.
Church Insurance Made Simple We ve been talking to you, our customers, over the last year to find out how we can help make it easier for you to understand your insurance cover. Thanks to what you have told us, we have now developed a new series of Made Simple documents to help you with key topics where you wanted straightforward, easy-to-follow, advice. The new guides are available to read or download from our website. Each provides a simple summary of a topic together with links to web pages and other documents that include moredetailed information. For those of you looking after your church insurance, we now have a simple guide to administering your policy. This includes help and advice on paying premiums and ways you might save money, including interest-free direct debits or increasing the excess on your policy (the amount you pay if there is a claim). It also explains when you need to tell us about changes or activities at your church. In addition we have also produced the following Made Simple guides: Church Buildings an explanation of the insurance issues related to church buildings such as ensuring you have fire risk assessments and avoiding slips, trips and falls. People in Church Premises looking at health and safety and other matters to consider to help keep regular visitors to your buildings safe. Events from fundraising to Christmas services, a summary of what you need to know and when you need to tell us about events at your church. Community outreach churches increasingly offer services such as night shelters here we summarise the main topics and what you need to consider with your outreach activities. The Made Simple guides reflect our desire to make sure that churches understand what is covered by their insurance and what is not. Plus we hope they will help to encourage churches to take simple steps to mitigate possible risks. The guides supplement the wide range of content we have on our Church Matters website. If you have any feedback on the new guides or ideas for topics we might cover, why not email us at churches@ecclesiastical.com with your thoughts? All the new guides can be found at www.ecclesiastical.com/madesimple National Crime Helpline for Churches The Church Buildings Council has set up a national crime helpline for churches to use after a theft. Once a theft is reported it will trigger an alert to auctions houses, museums and crime prevention agencies which is a fast, effective way of preventing the sale and permanent loss of treasures. Both the Church Buildings Council and Ecclesiastical are keen that we can all enjoy the many treasures and artworks in churches. But, while the fear of crime is greater than the reality there is no room for complacency and we encourage churches to take simple security measures to protect their church contents such as marking metal items with SmartWater (see overleaf). To report the loss of a treasure or artwork from your church contact the Church Crime Alert team on 020 7898 1860, or email churchcrimealert@churchofengland. org. Visit www.ecclesiastical.com/ churchsecurity for more information on keeping your church secure. Top Tip... If you feel your church should normally be kept locked, you might like to consider making the key available to visitors. You could ask a local shop, Post Office or garage to safeguard the keys and take details of those visitors who wish to use them. Information about where to obtain the keys can be displayed in the porch area or on the church notice board.
Top Tip... SmartWater can be used on other items in addition to lead roofing make sure you mark all church owned metals including memorial plaques as well as other valuables you may have inside your church such as silver, altar ware and valuable portable furnishings. Case Study Man jailed for melting stolen lead An Abergavenny man has been jailed after being caught with 3,700 of stolen SmartWater-marked lead from a church roof. Jonathan Vaughn, 35, was caught after police received an anonymous call to say he was melting lead in his garden in St Llanfoist. When officers recovered the lead it was found to be marked with SmartWater traceable liquid. Subsequent analysis identified the lead as having come from St Mary s Church roof in Abergavenny. At Cwmbran Magistrates Court, Vaughn admitted a charge of handling stolen goods. He was sentenced to four months for the offence and 113 days for a previous offence of assault after magistrates activated a suspended sentence. Mr Vaughn stated he had bought the lead to melt for Christmas money and refused to say where he d bought it from. The Ongoing Fight against Metal Thieves Ecclesiastical has led a concerted effort in recent years to make churches less-attractive targets for thieves by working with the Church of England, parliament and other interested parties to tighten up the law on scrap metal dealing and increase building security. While we have seen a reduction in recorded theft of lead roofing, it is important that we remain vigilant as metal theft has not gone away. This is one of the reasons why Ecclesiastical is continuing its proactive work with SmartWater and the police to target metal thieves. We also continue to encourage the use of other security products such as roof alarms to protect churches. One key aspect of the ongoing fight against metal thieves has been to target the scrap metal and recycling industries in order to make it more difficult for thieves to sell on stolen goods. In the last 5 years, our partners at SmartWater have made over 1,150 visits to scrap yards accompanied by regional police forces in proactive Days of Action to search for SmartWater-marked metals. The purpose of these visits is to remind scrap dealers that they face being arrested and convicted of handling stolen goods if they buy SmartWater-marked metals. If scrap dealers COVER UPDATE are checking for SmartWater and refusing to buy anything marked with it then thieves will quickly learn there is no point in stealing it in the first place. For this reason, it is very important that you continue to display SmartWater deterrent signs around your church. These should be placed in highly visible locations where would-be thieves are most likely to see them. If you require new signage then please call SmartWater on 01952 204 102. Remember, you will not be covered for metal theft or any subsequent damage as a result of theft or attempted theft of metal unless you have applied SmartWater (or an alternative forensic marker approved by us), displayed the signage, and registered the product. A number of helpful crime prevention tips including information about SmartWater and roof alarms can be found on the Ecclesiastical website at www.ecclesiastical.com/theftofmetal We have recently increased the maximum you may claim for theft of external metal for more information see your next policy renewal pack. We are also now able to provide cover for metal theft when scaffolding is erected subject to certain conditions. For more information, visit www.ecclesiastical.com/theftofmetal or call 0845 777 3322.
Allchurches Trust aims to raise giving to record levels This January, insurer Ecclesiastical announced it had donated over 23m in 2014 to its charitable owner Allchurches Trust (ATL), a huge sum by any standard. But what is ATL and how does it use its resources to promote the Christian faith? Case Study St Giles Dell Centre, Ashtead, Surrey Ashtead is about 15 miles from London, close to the M25 motorway. Faced with an old wooden church hall now well past its sell by date, members of the congregation have set about fundraising for new facilities. Designs for the new Dell Centre include meeting rooms, a professional kitchen and a host of other facilities which the congregation envisage being used by the whole community. Pre- and afterschool clubs, social gatherings, fitness, dance and art classes are all on their agenda, alongside mentoring job seekers, community support and activities for the elderly. The charity, founded in 1972, is chaired by Sir Philip Mawer, former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and previously Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England. A career public servant, he remains closely involved with the work of the Church and its clergy. According to Sir Philip, ATL s role is to support churches and other worthy causes linked to the Christian faith through a programme of financial grants. Over the last decade, it has donated over 75m to projects as diverse as church building refurbishments and repairs, creating new facilities for people in need even helping Anglicans in New Zealand establish a temporary cathedral following the devastating Christchurch earthquake. In 2014 alone, ATL distributed grants of 9.7m, which went to a wide range of churches, dioceses and cathedrals throughout the British Isles. ATL s mission is to promote and support the Christian religion, Sir Philip explains. In broad terms, it does this by contributing financially to charitable organisations and churches. Every month, we receive over 100 applications for grants, which are considered carefully by our trustees. Although the majority of our support goes to the Church of England, grants are also made in response to applications from ecumenical partner churches, church schools and charities. We particularly welcome applications from less well-off parishes and for projects which will benefit mission and help local communities. Grants to parishes from ATL range in size depending on the scale of the project to be undertaken. The prospects for ATL s activities are very positive based on Ecclesiastical s commitment to donate 50m during 2014-2016. This is a hugely commendable ambition, Sir Philip notes. What this means is that, given Ecclesiastical s solid financial performance and favourable conditions in the insurance market, we hope to be able to increase our giving to the Church to record levels over the coming three years. For more information or to apply for a grant, visit ATL s website at www.allchurchestrust.co.uk, where full details are available. Case Study St Aidan s Church, Stobhill, Morpeth St Aidan s is a modern church located in a deprived area on the outskirts of the market town of Morpeth, Northumberland. With an outdated hall, the church was desperately in need of more community space. An exciting project was devised, resulting in the sale of the old church hall and the proceeds funding an extension to the church for community use. The new building will house a crèche, holiday clubs, a luncheon club and meeting rooms, and it can also be used to provide extra seating capacity for larger services, concerts and other events in the church.
Keeping up to date WIN an ipad Home insurance prize draw Just call us for a quote or let us have your home insurance renewal date and we will enter you into a prize draw to win an ipad for you or your church. You can enter the draw by calling 0800 917 3345 and quote IPAD15 or go on line at www.ecclesiastical.com/ipad Top Tip... If you are planning to support your community, for example, through providing a night shelter, food bank or parish nursing, there are important regulatory issues you need to be aware of. We can help you with free advice to make sure you comply with the regulatory requirements. We hope you are familiar with our Church Matters website which has a wide range of information, guidance and tools you can use to help you look after your church. All our risk management guidance notes are collected together and sorted into the key categories of security, health and safety, fire, and storms and bad weather. Many customers also now get updates by email just let us have your email address if you, too, would like to be updated in this way. For further information: Our website: www.ecclesiastical.com/church Customer services: call 0845 777 3322 or email churches@ecclesiastical.com Claims: Did you know? call 0845 603 8381 (24-hour service) or email faithclaims@ecclesiastical.com Our customer service lines are normally open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, except for bank holidays. However, claims can be registered at any time during the day or night. Here we highlight two features of your Parishguard policy that you may not be aware of. Consequential loss Consequential loss cover is included in your Parishguard policy to help offset loss of income if your church has to close for repairs following insured damage that Ecclesiastical is covering under the Property section of your Parishguard policy. You may be able to claim up to 100,000 over a four-year period for loss of income from your normal church activities, such as service collections, income from hirers not being able to use the building and costs such as hiring alternate premises. Independent Financial Advice Do you need help with your finances? Ecclesiastical Financial Advisory Services can offer you totally independent financial advice on investments, retirement and protection. They can also help parishes who have funds to invest with their investment strategy. Please note, the value of investments can fall as well as rise and past performance is not a guide to future performance. For more information call: 0800 107 0190 or email: getadvice@ecclesiastical.com Money cover The prospect of having money stolen by a church official or a volunteer is never an easy one for a church to contemplate, but sadly this is a risk that needs to be addressed. In the last year there have been a number of court cases involving theft from church funds. For example, in 2014, a deputy church treasurer in the Wirral was found guilty of systematically stealing collection money for over a decade, amounting to almost 20,000. The good news is that our Parishguard policy offers some protection against the risk of misappropriation. However, in order to meet the conditions of the policy and ensure that a claim can be defended, you will need to provide specific information and make certain that important checks are carried out. For example, regular reconciliations should be carried out of bank statements, cash-inhand and petty cash, and these checks should be conducted by someone not usually responsible for money, so that thefts cannot be concealed during the reconciliation. Our website has more information about how to limit the risk of internal fraud.
How secure is your church?... It is a sad statistic that every year, one quarter of the country s Anglican churches will suffer from theft, vandalism or arson. For some, it might be a single incident; for others it can be a concerted campaign. In 2013, a church in Blackpool reported that vandals had repeatedly smashed stainedglass windows, attacking the church 50 times over an 18-month period. Churches, by their very nature, are often seen as soft targets for both hardened and opportunistic criminals, and for people intent on causing damage. Such incidents are stressful and inconvenient for you and your colleagues, while depriving the wider community of a vital social asset. While it is reassuring to know you have financial protection from Ecclesiastical in the form of a Parishguard insurance policy, insurance cannot replace the emotional harm or compensate for the loss of your church s history photographs, writings and unique artefacts. That s why it s important to take all reasonable precautions you can to reduce the risk of these incidents happening in the first place. The good news is that there are many low-cost and no-cost preventative measures you can take which will reduce your church s attractiveness to criminals. The joy of Anglican architecture is that every church is a one-off, be it rural or urban, isolated or highly visible, on or off the tourist trail, locked or open, unattended or stewarded. The challenge, then, is for church officials to implement a security solution that s right for their church in all its wonderful uniqueness. Based on the experience of the team at Ecclesiastical, here are a number of measures you can take to make your church more secure. Make it harder to gain access Fit quality locks and intruder alarms. Bars and grilles may not be attractive, but will stop criminals gaining entry through vulnerable ground-floor windows. Deter metal thieves Specialist roof alarms like those highlighted by Ecclesiastical s Hands Off Our Church Roofs campaign have been shown to deter metal thieves and cut lead theft. Remember: it s a condition of your insurance cover that you apply SmartWater to exterior metal such as roof lead, ensure your SmartWater kit is registered and display the signage in a prominent position. Encourage people to use the church as much as possible The presence of legitimate visitors will deter those with a criminal intent. Consider a rota of people to check the church. Store portable items securely Place valuable and easily-stolen items such as silverware or computers in a secure place such as a locked vestry or a safe. Security mark all portable valuable items with a product like SmartWater, while communion plates can be engraved with the name of the church. If valuables cannot be locked away, consider securing them to the fabric of the building in some way to deter thieves. Take photographs of valuables If an item is stolen, a photograph will aid police in their investigations and help Ecclesiastical find a replacement, if required. Placing a ruler in the photograph to act as a scale is a useful tip. Photographs should be kept in a safe place away from the church. Replace valuables with less expensive alternatives When your church is open and unattended, remove temptation by replacing valuable silver and brass altarware with lower cost wooden substitutes. The more valuable altarware can be taken out for services. Fences and lighting Check that church buildings and grounds are adequately secured at night. Make sure your fencing is in good order and there are no obvious points of entry. If necessary, install floodlighting in vulnerable areas of the church grounds. Any ladders used for maintenance must be stored securely where criminals cannot gain access to them. Dampen arsonists enthusiasm Ensure any combustible materials such as cardboard packaging or waste bins are not left close to the church s exterior. Waste bins should be as far away from the building as possible, preferably at least 10 metres. For more information on how to secure your church, you can download Ecclesiastical s guidance notes available at www.ecclesiastical.com/churchmatters or call the company on 0845 777 3322. Your local insurance consultant and surveyor can also help you.
A checklist for your churchwarden Surprisingly for a role that s so ubiquitous in the life of the Anglican Church, churchwardens do not feature heavily in art or literature... Vicars are commonplace; vergers ten a penny think Dad s Army and The Vicar of Dibley but the humble churchwarden is hard to come by. This seems odd considering that churchwardens bear much of the burden of running and maintaining a church, being responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the parish. Perhaps the sheer volume of activities in which they engage makes them unsuitable characters for works of popular fiction? In truth, churchwardens have one of the most varied of roles in the church community. According to one diocese, the churchwarden s enemies are numerous and varied: rising damp, blocked drains and gutters, poor ventilation, faulty wiring, insecure windows and doors, unserviced boilers, slipped slate and crumbling stonework. Quite a list to be going on with. Although duties differ from parish to parish, the following list of questions, compiled with the help of experts at leading church insurer Ecclesiastical, offers some general guidance on key tasks and responsibilities of these valuable volunteers. If the answer to any of these questions is no, then speak to your churchwarden about what needs to be done. The church, churchyard and their fabric 1. At the last annual meeting of the PCC, was a report on the fabric, goods and ornaments of the church presented? 2. (i) Are any essential works for the church building, as noted on the last quinquennial report, in hand or planned? (ii) Are there proper arrangements in place for routine maintenance and the regular clearance of gutters and downpipes to prevent blockages? (iii) Are arrangements in hand for proper maintenance of the churchyard? Presentation and care of church records 3. (i) Are your service book records and registers for burials, baptisms and marriages up-to-date? (ii) Are you satisfied that all church registers, records and books are in satisfactory condition and properly stored or deposited within the archives? 4. (i) Are you satisfied that external and internal noticeboards are in good order and up-to-date? (ii) Is the current Table of Parochial Fees displayed clearly in the church? (iii) Is the Churchyard Directive displayed prominently and publicly? 5. Are you satisfied with arrangements for the care and cleaning of the church s interior, church linen and other ornaments and vessels? 6. Do you have up-to-date church guidebooks available and, if appropriate, are they available in other languages? 7. Is there a logbook for your church and is it up-to-date? 8. Is there a plan of your churchyard and is it up-to-date? Finances 9. Is all your church insurance up-to-date and does it give you appropriate cover? Other matters 10. (i) Has your PCC discussed the Equality Act and Health & Safety issues, and has an audit been carried out? (ii) Do you have a policy and a person(s) with responsibility for the issues? A guide to the role of the churchwarden is available from the diocese. In addition, there are a number of books available commercially. Churchwarden facts The office of churchwarden dates from the 13th century. Churchwardens are the legal guardians of a church s movable goods. Most parishes have two elected churchwardens. Historically, there are two types of churchwardens: the people s warden and the rector s warden. The churchwarden pipe a longstemmed tobacco pipe was so named because churchwardens used them to smoke in church while poking their pipe out of the window. Whilst Ecclesiastical has used reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information in this newsletter is correct at the time of publication, please note: (a) the information is not intended to constitute a definitive or complete statement of the law on any subject, (b) the information may over the course of time become incorrect or out of date; and (c) neither Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc. nor its subsidiaries can accept any responsibility or liability for action taken or losses suffered as a result of reliance placed on the information provided in this newsletter. For more information call 0845 777 3322 email information@ecclesiastical.com visit www.ecclesiastical.com/churchmatters Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc (EIO) Reg. No. 24869. Ecclesiastical Insurance Group plc (EIG) Reg. No. 1718196. Ecclesiastical Life Ltd (ELL) Reg. No. 243111. Ecclesiastical Investment Management Ltd (EIM) Reg. No. 2519319. Ecclesiastical Financial Advisory Services Ltd (EFAS) Reg. No. 2046087. Ecclesiastical Services Ltd (ESL) Reg. No. 1811698. E.I.O. Trustees Ltd Reg. No. 941199. All companies are registered in England at Beaufort House, Brunswick Road, Gloucester, GL1 1JZ, UK. EIO and ELL are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. EFAS and EIM are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. ESL is an appointed representative of EIO who is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc 2015 4/15