New Year's Resolutions

I was in the swimming pool yesterday morning, fulfilling my resolution to swim more in 2018. I thought that the place would be full to bursting with people working off all that Christmas feasting, but no. It was really quiet, and I wondered whether most people had left their New Year’s resolutions until next week.

Here at CCT the new year has definitely started and there is a great deal to look forward to in 2018 – as well as some challenges to boot. Here are some of our New Year’s resolutions that we hope you will share in.

Release your inner Champer

January will see the opening of the new Champing™ sites across England. This year we are really excited to open up more churches for our happy Champers to visit – 25 in total. Please check out the website at www.champing.co.uk from 12 January. There will be churches to suit all tastes, so get out there and enjoy the unique experience that each place has to offer.

Support the Canny Space

We are working hard to raise money for our wonderful Holy Trinity Church in Sunderland. This beautiful Georgian church was once at the heart of the city’s community, but today it is in danger of being lost unless we act now. The Canny Space is a major project to transform the building and reconnect it with the community before it is too late. We expect to hear if the Heritage Lottery Fund will provide funding in March, and have raised £30,000 of the £50,000 partnership funding we need. The more we raise, the greater chance of success we have. Can you help?

Get out and visit churches

Church Tourism Week will take place from 21–29 July. There will be lots and lots of events and reasons to visit historic churches across the country, so keep an eye out for what is happening near you.

In the summer we will begin work on site at St Swithun’s in Worcester. We will be transforming this very important church into a cutting-edge arts venue – a really exciting development for this city centre building.

Find new ways to help

We are really looking forward to developing our strategy this year, and we stand ready to assist churches beyond our collection. We are already supporting the Norfolk Quakers meeting houses by providing maintenance. Now we are looking to expand this work across the country.

You can help us to help more people care for historic churches by joining us. Become a member in 2018, and you will have the benefit of significant discounts on our selection of historic church tours across the country.