The National Church Awards – the “BAFTAs for churches” – has begun its search for the best churches in the UK, with nominations now open.
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.
The categories are:
- Care and Conservation
- Church and Community Volunteer
- Open for Visitors
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Friends Award
- Church of the Year
Nominations are made through the website of the award’s organisers, the National Churches Trust, with a NEW EXTENDED closing date of midnight on Thursday 5 September, 2024.
Awards will be presented at a prestigious ceremony held in the chapter house of Lincoln Cathedral on 22 October, 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 County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
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, visit https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/impact/awards
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.
“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.”