The All-Party Group on Faith and Society hosted a report briefing with the University of York on Thursday 9th December. The report, Churches, COVID-19 and Communities is a joint publication by the University of York, Historic England, the Church of England, the Association of English Cathedrals, the National Churches Trust, and the Historic Religious Buildings Alliance.
The report examines the impact of closing church buildings and restrictions on activities provided or hosted by churches, on the lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities. It also looks at how churches and other faith groups were able to respond creatively to COVID-19 challenges and adapt to meet new circumstances and needs.
The report was presented by Revd Professor Dee Dyas, Professor of the History of Christianity and Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Christianity at the University of York, and Becky Payne, who works as a freelance consultant undertaking projects on sustaining historic places of worship.
A panel discussion followed the presentation; Baroness Uddin, Dr Kate Giles of University of York and Daniel Singleton of FaithAction gave their reflections on the report. Participants at the meeting then took part in a Q&A session.
You can watch the recording of the session below. If you have any questions related to the report, please get in touch with the team at University of York at candc@york.ac.uk
