The 2022 National Church Awards In UK

October 28, 2022265 views0

The 2022 National Church Awards In UK

2022-10-28T10:56:17+01:00

By Church News

The first-ever National Church Awards to celebrate churches and the people who use and look after them; took place at the historic Mercers’ Company Livery Hall in the City of London recently.Presenting the awards, Hugh Dennis said, “Packed with history and heritage, centres for vital community support and places for worship and reflection, churches are a beating heart of the nation.“A huge congratulation to all of the winners of this year’s awards, all of whom love and care for their churches.“The National Church Awards will inspire others with new ideas to make their churches welcoming, long-lasting and thriving, at the service of all.”The top prize of Church of the Year 2022 was won by St Macartan’s church (The Forth Chapel), Augher, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.The church, located in the heart of the Clogher Valley, dates from 1838 – 1846 and was once the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clogher.The church is famous for its Clarke Studio stained glass windows, installed in 1922. These have recently been restored as part of a major heritage project led by Martin McKenna.Judges also praised the recent restoration as a “catalyst” for greater local involvement with the church.“There’s a sense of bringing everyone together to share in the activity. It’s wonderful to see an ecumenical project which demonstrates that leadership is a real linchpin to success. So often clergy think that the gutters have nothing to do with their vocation but it’s great to see their involvement here,” the judges said.St Macartan’s church received the highly coveted Church of the Year Award. It also won the Northern Ireland category in the Naylor Awards for Excellence in Church Maintenance and a cash prize of £2,500.There were awards for the best churches in the other three nations which went to St George’s church, Kidderminster in Worcestershire, England; St Deniol & St Macella, Marchiel in Wrexham, Wales; and Bishopton Parish Church, in Renfrewshire, Scotland.ALSO READ The first UK National church Awards Nominations