Churchgoers - what is your church building for?

[FloralBunting]

I was having a conversation with a friend about church, and what we do in the community. Her church is a large converted warehouse space. It functions as a venue for the services on Sundays, but is utilized throughout the week for various things the church does, like mums and tots, meals for the elderly etc. I think it is also available for hire.

My church building, by contrast, is not multi purpose at all. We have some separate buildings that various groups meet in, but the main building is specifically reserved for prayer, not least because the Blessed Sacrament is reserved there.

It got me thinking about how different people see sacred spaces, and how their faith finds expression. I'm very practical in how I live my faith out, but I so value that 'set-apart' space where I can recharge my batteries. I know others get their strength from the 'doing'. Is it a difference between introverts and extroverts, maybe?

Interested in your thoughts. Obviously not restricted to church peeps - I know other religions have different approaches to sacred space.

My church used to be a cinema and a bingo hall (though not at the same time!). We have offices which we rent out. Lots of community groups - parent & toddlers, youth groups, scrabble group, community choir, holiday clubs - all run by the church. We hire out rooms for events, including the main room which we have Sunday services in. The building is also used for diabetic eye screenings, blood bank, Santa's grotto, Slimming World, English classes. There is also a dedicated prayer room which is not used for anything else.

Our Church building was built (in the 1950s with war money after bombing in WW2) with lots of rooms as part of the building. So I'd say our Church is used for all sorts of things - Scout Groups, Toddler Group, Dementia Group, Older Folks Fellowship, EAL groups, badminton, Stroke Club, Job clubs etc., plus of course Church meetings, plus hiring out for birthday parties, Blood Donor Sessions, Elections (Poll Stations), and all sorts of 'one-off' or occasional use. I would say that the Church is a functional building to be put to use for the local community.
One room of that is the 'Worship Area' and isnt' used very much during the week, but I have no problem when it is used for meetings (AGMs mostly).
I feel a building used for an hour a week, or 2 or even 3 services on a Sunday only, is a terrible waste. I think we need to be practical. I'm interested in visiting different Churches when we go to different parts of the country, but am more impressed by a 'living' building than a 'museum'.
For me, using a building to the full, doesn't mean you can't keep a reflective space in it somewhere - obviously acknowledging that is easier in some buildings than others.

We have an old, traditional church building, but we have chairs rather than pews, so we can clear them to the edges and have a big open space for things like holiday clubs, the light party on Halloween, our weekly community cafe and minimarket. We have been known to have a bouncy castle in there at times! We also have a church lounge that has various lunch clubs, toddler groups, alpha courses, messy church etc running throughout the week. Serving the community is very much part of our church.
It's an Anglican church, though so a bit different to a Catholic church where you have the holy sacrament present.

Our church building is very, very old and when services aren’t in progress it’s effectively a museum. You can come in and tour the building and learn about it’s history and that of the community.

Our church halls are used for a million different community events.

My church (catholic) has the blessed sacrament reserved in the main worship space (the church, as we call it).
I like that protected space. When you step from the porch to the 'church' you change your behaviour. It is holy ground. There are only certain acceptable activities to do there.

We have a hall, which is used for all the fellowship, and meals, and events and youth work and kids work etc. And is hired out. And all of that is still church. And vitally important to my faith practice.

But I like the holy space. Even if I am not actually praying, but rehearsing for a service, or cleaning, or sorting music books, it is done with an awareness of being in God's presence.

Ive worked in three church buildings. Two were old and historic with fixed pews which really limits what you can do with them. One is 20th century and has chairs so it is much more flexible. We are planning to put toilets and a kitchen out the back so that we can run events with food. There are people who are very twitchy about the space being used for anything other than worship but they don't pay the gas bill and with no support from the state we need to use our building in the most efficient way.

Our village has 2 churches. One is one of the oldest in the country. Very traditional has a seperate modern church hall building down the road used for everything thats not worship. The main church is full of antiques and very old. I imagine people would be nervous to utilise it more. Plus its full of crypts and tombs. Not the most relaxing environment if im honnest.

Theres a newer estate that was built in the 60s that has a church within it. That also has a multi purpose church hall. But the main church is kept seperate for worship only. With fixed pews.

Our church doesn’t have a building. We meet in the community centre on Sundays and hire venues during the week for prayer meetings etc or meet in each other’s houses.

I live in a medium/large village. Our church building isn't used much during the week, although there is sometimes a concert / performance / lecture there. I guess part of the problem is that the fixed pews don't make it a very useable space. I know it has been suggested that we could remove the pews and use collapsible chairs instead, for this reason, but there is a lot of opposition to this (understandably I think) from the more traditional church goers.

However we do share with the Catholics (who have their service late on Sunday morning, while CofE is earlier) which is at least more efficient than maintaining two churches in a village.

Rather off the point but this thread has made me realize why there are so many church pews for sale on vintage furniture sites!
I live in a city and the reverse happens - buildings, mainly schools, intended for other purposes, are used for churches at the weekend. As an atheist, I don't mind this, but I do mind the large banners advertising the churches throughout the week that are the first thing children see when entering their non-religion affiliated state school. My atheism is as important to me as religion is to any religious person, and I am sure that if the opposite happened and children were greeted with huge promotional banners for atheism at the door of their religion-affiliated state school, there would be an outcry from religious people.

My church is a church and halls. The sanctuary (traditional church bit with pews and an aisle and an organ!) is only used for services, prayers meetings, bible study etc but this happens throughout the week. The Halls are used for many things, from toddler groups, scouts, preschool, etc to being hired for Zumba, yoga, karate, needlepoint etc. It is also used for community services such as the CAB, a debt charity do a drop in, health visitor clinic (used to, at least, don’t know now if that happens now), AA, etc. The halls can be hired for regular use or one off parties etc. There are often fundraising quizzes, barn dances, jumble sales, etc.
The halls are very busy, all the time. The church building is set apart as a holy space. I like this balance.