St Mark's Church in Mayfair turned into a food hall

[successstories]

I was quite uncomfortable to see this former place of worship being turned into a food hall.

There was something disturbing about spaghetti and pizza being dished up in front of all the religious objects and imagery (which are very prominent, still in situ and pretty much intact)

Isn't there a Christian organisation that could have ensured this building was preserved for a more suitable use? If this had happened to a Synagogue or a Mosque for example, there would have been outrage.

AIBU?

Is it a charity food hall, serving food to those that would otherwise be hungry? Or been sold and turned into a posh shop?!

I was there for lunch yesterday. It was lovely. <misses point>

Is it a charity food hall, serving food to those that would otherwise be hungry? Or been sold and turned into a posh shop?!

It's the latter.

To be fair though, the building was empty for almost thirty years prior to its current incarnation. What use is it as an empty space? It’s lovely to see it full of life again. I’m sure Our Lord would approve.

It’s a sign of the times - religion is on the wane.

sounds lovely - I might check it out 😄

I'm also not sure I would describe it as 'posh' as that would imply it's a discreet, understated venue with stylish aesthetics.

It's more run of the mill commercial 'in your face' stalls. The whole thing was very jarring

It was deconsecrated almost 50 years ago, was derelict for years. So no, clearly there wasn't.

The current use at least preserves it - would you rather it was left derelict? The current owners have actually done a lot of conservation work.

There's no such thing as an 'appropriate' use of a church - lots that are still in active use as places of worship are used for other things too, including food fairs! And lots of former churches have been turned to secular use - people live in them and run businesses in them. I know of a few different ones which are used as live music venues. They normally try to find another community group to purchase in preference to a business, but that's not always possible, especially as they have a duty to get a price for the building that isn't ludicrously below the market. I can imagine there not being many potential community purchasers at Mayfair prices. If it's a historical building (I'm not familiar with the particular church) then any change of use should include provisions for preservation - and in fact that can be a huge advantage of sale of a dying church, that it can go to people who can afford to look after it rather than let it crumble.

There are groups who try and preserve churches - look at the Friends of Friendless Churches page, for instance, and consider donating if it matters to you. They certainly can't do it in every case, though, and I don't think it would be appropriate to try and preserve every former church in aspic. The country has changed, faith patterns have changed and it's ok and normal that the use of these buildings change too.

YANBU. I think it’s a shame to see places of worship, regardless of deconsecration, used like this.

It’s a sad reflection of our society that we now worship at the altar of consumerism, instead of something higher than ourselves. But I’m very much in the minority nowadays.

It was deconsecrated almost 50 years ago, was derelict for years. So no, clearly there wasn't.

The building did never appear to be truly derelict. It could easily have been leased to a Christian charity (there are plenty) to use as headquarters, for instance.

It's about respect, I think. Going back to my point, this would never have been allowed if it was a building that had been used by any other religion.

The church in my neighbourhood is a popular bar/restaurant/wedding venue. It would otherwise be standing empty and growing more derelict.

Far better for churches that no longer have a congregation to adapt and find another use.

Is getting some lunch really worshipping at the altar of consumerism?

It’s not a church and hasn’t been for decades so YABU. But using sacred objects as cafe decoration feels a bit much, doesn’t it.

You'd have the vapours at the old church near me. It's now a hybrid church-cum-post-office-cum-cafe-cum-soft-play-centre.

And still beautiful and a fantastic space.

I'm a Christian and I don't get upset by this sort of thing - a church is just a physical place to go, and once it's been deconsecrated then it is literally just a physical place. They're beautiful buildings, it's nice they're not being wasted and empty. You can find God in a field, your home, a supermarket, anywhere you are. You don't need to be inside a church to be close to God, and I think the majority of Christian's my age have that POV (at least that I have met). Churches are lovely, but when not in use and not blessed and buildings that shouldn't be left to rot.

Church of England can't afford to keep and preserve all these historic buildings they don't need and often are no longer fit for purpose.

If we, as a society, want to keep them for heritage purposes that costs money.
What would you suggest?

Our local arts centre is a deconsecrated church. As a churchgoer, I’m pleased that the building is in use.

If it was a mosque or a synagogue 🙄

Going back to my point, this would never have been allowed if it was a building that had been used by any other religion.

Ponder a moment how many more churches there are in the UK than synagogues, temples, mosques etc.

People by and large do not attend church anymore and therefore there are many churches standing empty. Far better they're utilised for something else.

Our local library is in a converted church. Presumably a library is preferable to a building standing empty?

Are you an active worshipper yourself, OP? I wonder how many of the people who think it's inappropriate to use a former church to serve food are. It's a bit like the MN threads where people declare that you can't wear jeans in church, that children must be totally silent, etc - it always turns out they only go to church for christenings, weddings and funerals and that's why they think they're these incredibly stiff, formal places. People who actually are church goers are normally much less uptight about this stuff because they know that churches are and should be community centres not museums (not that many museums are so unwelcoming either anymore!) and that God's work is everywhere.

Well if the christian church was willing to put its hand in its pocket for once it wouldn’t have been derelict would it.

Mosques and gurdwaras often end up shutting and the buildings get used for other things, did you think they would be left empty forever? My sons ballet lessons are held in what was a mosque.

'The building did never appear to be truly derelict. It could easily have been leased to a Christian charity (there are plenty) to use as headquarters, for instance.'

The problem with this OP is that most Christian charities would not have the spare money to use on expensive building upkeep (as formerly derelict churches tend to be) as they need to use the money for their charitable purpose. With no owners doing the upkeep the charity would be on a repairing lease meaning the tenants are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance. Fitting out an old church to become an office, then heating the building warm enough for people to work there and repairing it are all very expensive and not the best use of funds for charities that are trying to help those in need.

If a business has the money to repair an old building and use some of their profits to keep it going and allow the public to visit then so much the better in my opinion.

If this had happened to a Synagogue or a Mosque for example, there would have been outrage.

Would there have been?

@VestaTilley or maybe we just stop worshiping altogether? 😊