Irish Times Notes22 Aug 20

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

Economic Effects of Covid 19

There has, inevitably, been much comment on the economic effects of the Covid 19 virus on various sectors of the economy – business, trade, tourism, hospitality, sport, leisure and the arts. However, little has been said about the economic effects on the Church with most ecclesiastical converse concentrated on welcoming the re-opening of places of worship and debating the potential size of congregations permitted under the new restrictions. But the Church has not been immune to the economic downturn – far from it.

Summer is traditionally the time for parish fetes, sales of work, barbecues, recitals by visiting choirs and musical ensembles. These contribute significantly to the budget of parishes and are especially important for those with small congregations and historically and architecturally important church buildings to maintain - a well-supported concert by a visiting American choir can do wonders for the church roof fund.

The large urban cathedrals are especially affected. They tend to have small core congregations and depend on visitors to swell the numbers at the Sunday Eucharist and at Choral Evensong, on tourists to pay for visits, on audiences to attend recitals and concerts, and on corporate and related externals events to hire the culturally attractive spaces than they can provide.

In a remarkably frank assessment of the impact of the pandemic on St Anne’s cathedral, the Dean of Belfast, the Very Revd Stephen Forde, described the impact of the lockdown as ‘catastrophic’ with a £250,000 operating loss projected for the end of 2020.

The last service in the cathedral was on St Patrick’s Day. By Mothering Sunday St Anne’s had closed and immediately moved to on-line services. All contracted cathedral employees were placed on furlough at the start of lockdown and the cathedral’s finances are now in a very precarious position. All sources of income were impacted. Income from car parking is down 50 per cent. At a stroke, all tourism and events revenue was lost. Although people were encouraged to set up standing orders, congregation collections are down, as is investment income. Events that were cancelled include concerts, dinners, a VE Day event and cruise ship tours.

As lockdown restrictions eased, St Anne’s held its first open service on 2 August, and this was also live-streamed - seventy-five parishioners attended in person. Evensong will resume with a socially distanced choir in September. The cathedral reopened its doors to visitors on 14 August, and the Dean and his team are hoping lots of people on ‘staycation’ will take the opportunity to discover more about this historic place of worship.

In the wake of Covid-19, the Representative Church Body (RCB) has offered support to cathedrals and collegiate churches with choral foundation across Ireland, and a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund has allowed St Anne’s to open again to tourists. Opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 11am to 3pm and Friday and Saturday from 11am to 4pm. These hours may be subject to change, so intending visitors should check at www.belfastcathedral.org before planning your visit.

The Belfast experience is unlikely to have been unique. Other cathedrals have been slow to comment but it seems inevitable that the two Dublin cathedrals, which are major tourist attractions, will have suffered acutely, while to varying extents those in Armagh, Cork, Derry, Limerick, and Waterford must also have been adversely affected. The road to recovery is likely to be slow and unpredictable. While congregations are returning, some, especially the older cohort, remain wary of indoor gatherings, and, of course, overseas visitor numbers continue to be small.