Search underway to find Northern Ireland’s finest churches

Tuesday August 13th 2024

St Macartan (The Forth Chapel), Augher in Co Tyrone, was awarded Church of the Year in 2022. Photo: Mid Ulster Council.

The National Church Awards has begun its search for the finest churches in the UK, with nominations now open to find 15 winners across five categories, with several awards reserved for churches in Northern Ireland.

The awards recognise achievements in conservation, tourism and volunteer work. Nominations are welcomed from churches, chapels and meeting houses across the UK, which are currently open for worship, with all denominations invited to take part.

And for the many church groups in the UK that don’t have a dedicated space for worship, nominations can still be made through the Volunteer and Lifetime Achievements categories.

Nominations are made through the website of the award’s organisers, the National Churches Trust, with a closing date of Saturday August 31 2024.

An expert panel of judges will review all entries, selecting around 45 finalists and 15 winners. Awards will be presented at a prestigious ceremony held in the chapter house of Lincoln Cathedral on October 22, an event which will also be live-streamed.

At the end of the ceremony, the 2024 Church of the Year will be revealed: One church among the winners that the judges feel fulfils its potential and makes a mark on its community and beyond. In selecting this overall winner, judges are also looking for a sustainable church, one that is relevant, looked after, in good repair, in use and open for all.

The 2023 Church of the Year was St Marylebone, in London. In 2022 this award went to St Macartan (The Forth Chapel), Augher, in Co Tyrone.

Winning churches will take home a range of rewards and mementoes including prize money from £500 to £750, a display plaque and, for group winners, the award itself, hand-crafted in Morley Grey Yorkstone. All finalists will receive a certificate.

In November, a National Church Awards Visitors’ Day will open the doors, quite literally, to the public, with people invited to visit churches close to home that have been awarded finalist status. This will include finalists from all previous years to give a wide geographic spread across the UK of over 100 outstanding churches, chapels and meeting houses open to visitors.

To find out more about the awards, including how to nominate, click HERE.

Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust, explained that the judges are keen to hear from a wide range of people involved in church work. “We invite anyone connected to a place of worship to look over the categories and consider entering their building or their volunteers. Last year we saw over 200 nominations and we would love to get close to 300 this year,” she said.

“The nominations included a range of buildings, from tiny rural chapels through to large city churches. There were eco-churches and community cafés, churches running tower tours, churches providing spaces for NHS clinics, and others hosting festivals and concerts.

“We see this as more of a celebration than a competition. This is about recognising the people who help churches thrive, who quietly go about making wonderful things happen, week in, week out. It’s about churches sharing what approaches work for them, so others can borrow ideas and find new ways to support their communities. So if you’re doing something that’s working well, let us know by nominating your place! Nominating is a straightforward process and there are guidelines to help you describe what’s going on at your church and include everything the judges want to see.”

Three Northern Ireland churches were among the winners last year. These were St Mary (Altinure, Park, Co Derry) winner of the Nayler Awards for Excellence in Church Maintenance; Christ Church, (Londonderry), winner of the Church and Community Volunteer Awards in partnership with the Marsh Charitable Trust; and Church of the Immaculate Conception (Strabane, Co; Tyrone), winner of Church Tourism: Open for Visitors Awards.

Judges were particularly impressed by a volunteer’s comment in the application for St Mary (Altinure, Park): “Through connecting with other volunteers looking after the church, I have developed lifelong friendships. I know my actions will have a positive effect on others and this provides me with a sense of accomplishment.”

For Christ Church, (Londonderry), judges were impressed at volunteers using what they have to develop ecumenical partnerships, commenting: “It’s proving very powerful. Christ Church and its neighbours are bringing people together in a celebration of culture, heritage and hope for the future.”

In their submission to the awards, the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Strabane) stated: “Our church is at the heart of the community. Being open and creating that sense of community makes Strabane a better place to work and live and visit.”

This year the awards have been inspired by the work and legacy of Lord Patrick Cormack, following his death in February. Recognised as a champion of church buildings, Lord Cormack dedicated his life to helping to keep the UK’s churches open and in use – working with many different organisations to make this happen. A new category of award, for Lifetime Achievement, has been introduced this year in Lord Cormack’s honour, to recognise an individual (or group) which has dedicated time, care and love for more than 25 years towards a particular place of worship.

Three award categories will each see four winners, selected from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, giving 12 awards overall

Care & Conservation. Each winner will receive £500

These awards bring a human story to conservation and maintenance, which traditionally tend to be less visible when celebrating and rewarding what churches do, despite a huge reliance on volunteers.

Church & Community Volunteers Awards. Each winner will receive £750

In partnership with Marsh Charitable Trust – From food banks to credit unions, churches across the UK provide a growing list of essential services for people in urgent need. The volunteer awards centre around the contribution that volunteers make to both caring for and making best use of churches, and especially using churches to reach out to local communities and using the building as a hub for activity.

Open for Visitors Awards. Each winner will receive £500

Most churches were built to be at the heart of their communities, to be busy and used by all. This award looks at how churches, chapels and meeting houses provide a wonderful welcome to visitors and share their building with others.

Also included in the National Church Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

The heritage and community engagement found in churches is built upon and sustained by the ongoing efforts of a vast army of supporters and volunteers. This special award celebrates the achievement of an individual or group which has dedicated time, care and love for more than 25 years towards this cause.

The Friends Award

This special award gives Friends (members) of the National Churches Trust the opportunity to help the charity select a church they have recently funded to receive an additional grant of £10,000. Churches in this award make a short film and Friends vote for their favourite. Anyone wishing to vote in this award can do so by becoming a Friend of the National Churches Trust (by mid-August).

The awards were instigated in 2022 by the National Churches Trust in partnership with the Pilgrim Trust, Marsh Charitable Trust and the Ecclesiastical Architects & Surveyors Association.

At last year’s ceremony co-presenter Canon Ann Easter, former Chaplain to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, added to this with her opening remarks:

“It’s an enormous privilege to be talking about some of the wonderful churches that bless communities across the UK. They are also just a place to be. To take time, sit quietly, say a prayer, and re-set for what’s next in your life. Churches seem to offer it all. So the National Churches Trust has decided it is high time that volunteers and churches were rewarded.”