Spiritual Building Materials

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Spiritual Building Materials

• Greg Smith
• Credo Consultancy and University of East London

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Newhams Faith Groups

• Over 300 groups
• 181 Christian congregations
• Pentecostal majority
• 22 mosques
• 10 other faiths (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jewish
  etc.)
• 50 groups began since 1990
• 104 buildings (77 belong to Christian churches)

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Types of Building

• Historical treasure
• Victorian worship barn
• Traditional mission hall
• Settlement centre
• Post war rational
• Functional conversion
• Shop front presence
• Modern multipurpose
• Rent a space anywhere
• Pilgrim congregation

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Historical Treasure

• Usually Anglican
• Ancient parish
• Set in a graveyard
• 3 examples in Newham
• One has nature reserve in the churchyard
• Two are part of a team parish
• Difficulty in adapting for community use
• Grade 1 Listed Buildings

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Victorian Worship Barn

• Catholic, Free Church and some CofE.
• Problems of Maintenance Cost
• Listed Buildings (grade 2)
• Some have reordered internally

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Traditional Mission Hall

• Mainly Evangelical or Old Pentecostal
• Some limp on, some have renewed and grown
• Some have changed hands
• A few have adapted buildings through support from
  (quasi) denominations
• One has relocated with a new building funded from
  LDDC compulsory purchase

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Settlement Centre

• Large Victorian Christian Foundations
• Multi Agency Community Work
• Few retain own congregational life or spiritual
  emphasis
• Several have converted to housing projects

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Post War Rational

• Replacing what Hitler demolished
• or should have demolished
• Free church ecumenism (some CofE and RC)
• tentatively multipurpose often with totally
  separate church hall
• concrete and glass modernism fails to withstand
  vandals and heating bills

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Functional Conversion

• Mainly new faith communities
• Many Pentecostal and Muslim examples
• Use large houses, garages, snooker halls, shops,
  cinemas, warehouses.
• One Anglican has converted the vicarage
• Planning Problems over change of use in
  residential areas

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CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
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Mosques, Mandirs and Gurudwaras
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Shop Front Presence

• Many Muslim and Pentecostal examples
• Many such properties available often on medium
  term lease
• Avoids major planning disputes
• Some preserve quasi commercial uses, e.g. Café or
  bookshop
• convenient for local drop in users

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Modern Multipurpose

• Mainly Church of England
• One Hindu example in disused school.
• Depend on partnership with state or voluntary
  sector organisation
• Housing, Health service and Community / Youth
  service examples
• Often complete new build
• Not always sustainable under faith community
  management

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Rent a Space Anywhere

• Mainly new churches
• especially black majority Pentecostals
• rent churches, schools, gym, town hall
• often interim stage, wanting to buy

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Pilgrim Congregation

• Using homes and/or minibuses, occasionally rent a
  venue
• Towards the virtual cyber church
• Travel light, minimal costs maximum flexibility
• Few sustained examples in East London (mostly
  charismatic, or an order)
• Not a proper, visible church?

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APOSTOLIC OR ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION?

• Using redundant places of worship
• Chapels, churches and synagogues
• become mosques, mandirs, Pentecostal centres
• some change owners and uses several times over
  centuries

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Contemporary Uses

• Redundant churches become, schools, factories,
  warehouses, housing
• Some become secular community facilities
• Charity Law demands sale to highest bidder
• Some sites are cleared for new commercial
  buildings

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ARCHITECTURAL MIX
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Theology, Mission and Ecclesiology

• Is the group for itself or for wider community?
• Is the group bound to a single ethnic culture?
• Is it willing to adapt to modernity /
  postmodernity?
• Does the group want to recruit?
• Is the mission purely spiritual or more
  wholistic?
• Is the group purist or pragmatic?
• Will it accept dirty money?
• Is the group a sect, denomination or church?

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Material Constraints

• Existing built environment
• State of the property market
• Endowed funds of the congregation or denomination
• Mean income of members
• Giving levels of members (cash and labour)
• Social capital links to people of wealth and
  power
• Legal constraints, e.g. planning and charity law

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Religious Buildings A secularisation paradigm

• Pre Modern We build a temple to the glory of,
  reflecting the image of our God. God dwells
  there. This building demonstrates the greatness
  of our city / civilisation.
• Modern We build or just rent a meeting place
  where Gods people can meet to worship and pray.
  God is in the midst of the people. In a
  competitive market the size and quality of the
  building shows the status of our faith community.
• Post Modern As a spiritual consumer I dont need
  a building or even a faith community. If the
  religious institution keeps a building it must
  use it to meet other marketable consumer needs.

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Conclusion

• In general faith communities in Newham are firmly
  in the modern era with regard to their use of
  buildings.
• Material, especially economic, factors dominate
  decisions about the purchase, renovation and use
  of buildings.