Diocesan Tourism Conference 24th March
The Diocese of York Church Tourism Group held an excellent day conference at Bishopthorpe Palace on 24th March.
The group were welcomed to the Palace by Archbishop Sentamu, who reminded us that the Diocese contains some of the finest churches in England, built by people who wanted to capture and reflect something of the glory of God. He reminded us of the story from the Old Testament where Abraham offers hospitality to three strangers who turn out to be angels, and challenged us to see tourism as welcoming strangers who could be angels.
The Keynote Speaker of the day was Canon John Brown, Chairman of the Churches Tourism Association, who set the picture about church tourism nationally and regionally. He challenged us to think of church buildings as our church’s greatest resource for mission – they are visible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When we walk into a church through its graveyard, we are walking from death into life. He encouraged us to think of ourselves as stewards of these buildings, not their owners.
He mentioned a church in Heddon-on-the-Wall, which is visited by lots of coach tours looking at Hadrian’s Wall. This church has seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of Japanese visitors wanting to light candles after the recent earthquake and tsunami – it’s just a little parish church, but it is serving the needs of tourists who visit it.
Gillian Cruddas MBE, CEO of Visit York spoke about the wider tourism context, looking at York and how it markets itself. She stressed that churches were an important part of York’s offer to visitors, and challenged churches to put marketing themselves to tourists higher up their agenda. She encouraged churches throughout the Diocese to get in touch with their regional tourism authority.
Next, Fiona Spiers, Regional Director of the Heritage Lottery Fund spoke about how churches can access funding for heritage projects. She stressed that all applications must align with the HLF’s aims to conserve the UK’s diverse heritage for present and future generations to experience and enjoy; help more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about their heritage; and help people to learn about their own and other people’s heritage. She told us that the HLF are currently holding a consultation on where their funding goes, and encouraged us to take part in that consultation on their website.
Hugh Murray, Historian and Writer on Heraldry gave us a great talk on the Heraldry of Bishopthorpe Palace, and we had a chance to discover the Chapel and public rooms of Bishopthorpe Palace.
After lunch, we heard from David Hawkins, from Worcester DAC, who asked us to look for signs of faddism in our churches – are we falling prey to the same fashions that we see in our homes and on the high street? He challenged us to think of who are churches are for – he felt they are not for the worshippers who come on a Sunday, but for the whole community.
Sarah Arthur from Heritage Inspired talked about collaboration, and how Heritage Inspired has been working to promote church tourism in South Yorkshire for the last 13 years, with HLF funding for the last 7.
To end the day, Roy Thompson asked us how we might want to develop the Tourism Group. He presented us with three options – to keep the group as it is, with church visits and training; to develop an e-network with advice and contacts; or to look for HLF funding to fund a three year project to develop church tourism in the Diocese, possibly similar to what Heritage Inspired had done in South Yorkshire. We discussed the suggestions, and most people were interested in the third option, and Roy and Gavin Wakefield will look at this further.
Please find below the presentations from Canon John Brown, and Gillian Cruddas.
Associated Documents:
- John Brown - Keynote Speech (14.02kb)
- Gillian Cruddas - Visit York (267kb)