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HOUSES OF PRAISE: Black Christians are facing a shortage of suitable places to hold services

A NEW report, Being Built Together, compiled by the University of Roe-hampton, has investigated problems black Christians in the London borough of Southwark have experienced in finding suitable places to worship.

The borough, which includes the areas Peckham, Camberwell and Dulwich, has experienced a surge in the number of new churches being formed in the area in recent years. It’s estimated that over 20,000 congregants gather within Southwark every week to worship in approximately 240 different churches.

Due to the increased need for places and the lack of suitable buildings, many black church leaders have established churches in inappropriate settings, such as industrial buildings and find that their places of worship don’t fit the local authority’s definition of what a suitable place for worship should be.

The report lists a number of recommendations to help churches in Southwark overcome these problems, including a call for the Greater London Authority (GLA) to address the issue of premises and planning for faith groups at a regional level.

Whilst the report acknowledges Southwark Council efforts to help the black faith community, it highlights that it needs to take note of the problems that arise when there are a significant number of black majority churches (BMC) next to businesses or in residential areas. It also calls upon BMCs to build closer ties with their neighbourhood and raise awareness of the good that they do.

SUITABLE

The report’s author, Dr Andrew Rogers said: “The new black majority churches are a gift to the church and the city of London. But the pressing issue of finding suitable places in which they can worship can put them at loggerheads with planning committees and the local communities in which they are based.

The situation in London is not unique, though it is perhaps at its most intense in Southwark. We hope that by highlighting the problems that they face, the borough of Southwark and on a regional scale, the GLA, the new black-majority churches, and the church as a whole will take on board our report’s recommendations to work towards finding innovative and lasting solutions to address these issues.”

Pastor Lincoln Serwanga, from Liberty Christian Fellowship in Camberwell, welcomed the report’s recommendations: He said: “The Being Built Together project has enabled all the various churches to come together and have a meaningful conversation about how we can exist and worship, both together and side by side. We all – new churches and old - need to learn from each other and acknowledge our mutual strengths and weaknesses. The report should help us to develop plans for working together to build God’s church in a lasting and harmonious way.”