A Bill seeking to widen the terms and change the name of the Church Fabric Fund has been presented to General Synod in Dún Laoghaire today (Thursday May 12). Bill No 4 proposes to rename the Church Fabric Fund as the Church Fabric and Development Fund and to widen the terms on which capital and income may be applied. Since its formation in 1930, the fund has been held for the repair of certain church buildings on specified terms. This Bill seeks to broaden those terms and change the name to encourage and develop the use of the fund.

Proposing the Bill Bishop Alan Abernathy (Connor) said he was grateful to the RB for proposing the “gentle but creative changes to the Church Fabric Fund. “The RB, as a trust body, are trustees and are there to serve the needs of the Church. They are, by good stewardship, to enable the next generation to maintain properties. I believe these changes will help to ensure there is a next generation to pass on our assets to.  This gives an ability for reimagining church and finding ways of connecting church with local communities and culture beyond the beauty of historic buildings. When church buildings are sold at present the proceeds are invested for the rainy day to help parishes maintain their church buildings. The rainy day has arrived. These changes will allow the flexibility for parishes to make proposals to use their assets for some imaginative development plans in the parish or, if they wish, in a local area or deanery. The parish would still be in control of the asset but allowed to use it more creatively for development,” the Bishop explained.

Seconding the Bill, Mr Robert Neill, said the matter had been raised at last year’s Synod with the vision of investing in the future rather than for the future. He said that the Bill provided that money could be spent on developing parish initiatives for the Long Term Church as well as on fabric. He explained that the parish initiative must begin at parish level before being approved by diocesan councils and synods. Mr Neill said this Bill did not deal with other assets, only church property.

Bill No 4 has passed its first and second stages and will come back before Synod on Saturday for its final stages.