When the Recovery & Renewal Fund was established by the Provincial Standing Committee, its objective was to help dioceses and charges finance the costs of adapting and changing to meet the challenges and opportunities created by Covid-19 and its aftermath.
The one-off allocation of £300,000 worth of funds, intended to help the Church to ‘recover’ from the pandemic and to ‘renew’ and develop its future mission and ministry, encouraged applications relating to four general categories:
- Recovery & Renewal of ‘pre-pandemic’ ministry
- Online presence post pandemic
- Social action & community development in post pandemic context
- Care for clergy and other church leaders
In this article, we look at several churches where it was decided that one of the best ways to signal renewal post-pandemic was to improve their signage to the outside world, by either refurbishing or replacing their existing arrangement.
St Margaret of Scotland, Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney
St Margaret’s now has a bright and refreshed sign to attract the attention of anyone passing by in the Gallogate, directing people to the church and to the community hall. With the church building sitting 50 metres back from the main road, the bright blue sign and noticeboard sign flags up the church’s presence to those who might not take a glance up the adjacent lane.
“The new sign helps to get us noticed,” says the Very Rev Dr Emsley Nimmo (pictured). “A great many people pass by this way, and we need to let them know that we are here, and we are open.”
In its application for funding, the vestry highlighted its desire to increase the visibility of hall facilities, “leading to improved security of funding available for ministry and mission in the east end of Aberdeen, and enhanced community outreach”.
St Andrew’s Callander, Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane
St Andrew’s also identified the repair and replacement of the church noticeboard next to the main road as an effective way to advertise not only service times but other ways in which St Andrew’s can participate in the community. The sign incorporates a QR code, allowing people to access easily further information about the church.
“It took longer than we had anticipated but we finally got it in place in February,” says treasurer Charlie Balding. “It was the Rector’s idea to include a QR code and certainly the website has been taking far higher than normal ‘hits’.
“We were most grateful for the Recovery & Renewal funding, which enabled us to replace the old ‘dog-eared’ sign with something infinitely better.”
Holy Cross Davidson’s Mains, Diocese of Edinburgh
Holy Cross used part of its Recovery & Renewal Fund allocation to erect a new sign and frame, out of concern that their rusty faded sign gave the impression that the church was dying.
“Our congregation has been declining for a long time but is now growing,” said the Rev Dr Stephen Holmes, “including a number of new local community connections, especially by a growing children’s ministry. Replacing a tired website and a scruffy sign will support this growth and help to show we are a flourishing church.
“I would like to express the gratitude of the vestry for this imaginative use of funds to enable churches like ours to grow and re-engage with their local community.”
Other SEC churches where improved signage was identified as a Recovery & Renewal Fund project include Holy Trinity Dunoon and St Columba’s Stanley.