Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced that £1.5 billion will be invested to save more than 1000 cherished arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings across England from closure.

Whilst the Government has confirmed the end of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, as part of this new package it will launch a £92 million fund called the Places of Worship Renewal Fund. The intention is to give religious heritage buildings access to the same level of financial support from the government as historic houses, monuments and other heritage sites. 

The LPWGS will close on 31 March 2026, earlier if the £23m budget is reached. Details of how the new scheme will work are yet to be announced, but will apply to Listed places of worship in England only.

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An independent initiative has been launched to understand how current and emerging conflicts overseas can become points of tension within the UK. 

Convened by the Woolf Institute, the Commission on Interfaith Relations will meet six times a year, with input from experts and community conversations, reporting in Spring 2027.

What happens around the world impacts communities and indications are that faith-tied tensions are intensifying. The Commission will assess the state of interfaith relations and how  global conflicts affect local communities, leading to tensions and misunderstandings. 

See more here.

We live in a digital age and many of us would struggle in our daily lives without access to the internet. How we do our communications has changed massively over the last few years and since Covid, there has been a decline in printed publications. 

But not everyone is able to access the internet and it seems there is still a desire for printed church publications, with these publications maintaining their readerships.

Having a printed magazine or newsletter left around a church building or distributed within the community can be an important method of outreach.

See more here.