Sadly, it is sometimes necessary to acknowledge that a church building is no longer needed as a place of regular worship. If this is something your PCC is considering, please contact Eleanor Glennon at the earliest opportunity to discuss your options.
Consecrated buildings (parish churches and chapels of ease), which form the vast majority of our places of worship, cannot be closed for regular public worship without a formal legal process that involves Diocesan Committees and the Church Commissioners nationally. The formal process to close a church for regular public worship can be time consuming so the decision to close a church is not taken lightly.
Some buildings used for worship that are not consecrated are the responsibility of the PCC and can be closed with the Bishop’s permission and marketed. The M&P team can provide advice on how best to go about this.
The main steps in the process to close a church for regular public worship are shown in this flow chart.
Further information is also available from the national church: Closed churches | The Church of England