Bishops and buildings – a baffling response

So, here’s a strange one…

I’d always assumed that when it came to church buildings, biblical theology was clear. Buildings are useful – but they are not the church. The church is people. As they don’t say at theological college, ‘Well obvious innit?’ See also 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 1 Peter 2:5, etc.

So, arising from that, I’ve always seen buildings as useful but relatively disposable; I mean, but for the pandemic, we could meet in a tent or a school and still be ‘church’, right? That said, don’t get me wrong – as a rural rector I have three wonderful 1,000-year-old church buildings. All of them are beautiful and historic.