Why church doors should be open

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Why church doors should be open

Phil McCarthy • April 29, 2024

When I see some little church here, in this city, or when I see it in another diocese where I go, with its doors closed, that's a bad sign. Churches must always have their doors open because this is a symbol of what a church is: always open. The Church is called to always be the open house of the Father. So that, if someone wants to follow a movement of the Spirit and approaches looking for God, they will not find themselves coming face to face with the coldness of a closed door. [1]

Pope Francis

Over the last year I have been walking pilgrim ways between Catholic cathedrals and one or more shrines within the same diocese. Sadly I come ‘face to face with the coldness of a closed door’ at many of the Catholic churches enroute, and even some of our cathedrals. If you are a weary pilgrim hoping to experience the church, light a candle and say a prayer, a bolted church door is a disappointment. An open door can be the high point of the day. I have found that Anglican places of worship are more likely to be open.

As Pope Francis points out, as well as being physical structures, doors are metaphors. An open church provides a welcome to those is search of God, but a locked church sends seekers a clear message: "Keep out: this is private space."

Francis has written of pilgrims:

Whoever they may be — young or old, rich or poor, sick and troubled or curious tourists — let them find due welcome, because in every person there is a heart in search of God, at times without being fully aware of it.[2]

Whether we walk or not, we all have ‘a heart in search of God’. A friend recently told me that as a young man he was at a moment of crisis. He walked into a church and sat down. That twenty minutes of silent reflection changed his life. He later came to faith and has taken up important lay roles in the Church. He believes that if the church door had been locked, his life might have taken a very different direction.

A church with an open door is a witness to shared faith and an evangelical presence in its neighbourhood. Churches fulfil important roles for the common good of the community in times of crisis, as we saw in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. And in ordinary times, churches can be important places of refuge from the noise and relentless busyness of everyday life. A few moments of silence and stillness can transform a person's day, even for a confirmed atheist.

On my walks I have come across open churches which provide examples of what can be done. In the Diocese of Clifton there is St James’ Priory next to Bristol Bus & Coach Station. The Church does not have a resident priest, but it is open daily for Eucharistic adoration. I have witnessed how well this opportunity is taken up. Despite the city centre location, thefts and acts of vandalism are rare and, when they occur, minor. In deep countryside I visited the isolated Church of St Thomas, Claughton in the Diocese of Lancaster. There was a notice inviting visitors into the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, incense in the air and recorded plainsong. The church provided welcome and spiritual uplift. The experience of visiting churches can be enhanced by making printed prayers available or by providing a notice with QR codes for sites like Universalis and the Jesuit Pray As You Go app so that people can easily access prayer resources and the readings of the day on their phones.

The potential benefits are great, and it can be done, so why are the doors of so many churches locked? In my view part of the problem is that many Christians tend to have a utilitarian view of their churches, seeing no need to open them except when a service is being held. The architectural styles of churches built (necessarily cheaply) after World War II may reinforce this. Spires may point to the heavens, reminding us of the transcendence of God, but the sanctuary light beside the tabernacle is a sign of the immanence of God, as present for us in the most modest 1960's prefab church as in great cathedral.

In this post Christendom age, churches with open doors are important signals of an apostolic spirit, openness to the neighbourhood, engagement in the life of the local community, and a demonstration of God's abundant love and generosity.

Nevertheless church leaders and pastoral councils need to manage the practicalities, and many will be aware of cautionary stories. Parishes must balance personal safety and protecting property with being a sacred presence in their neighbourhood. The Catholic Insurance Service advises that there are no additional premiums for extended church opening hours, and Ecclesiastical, the main insurer of Church of England churches, actually encourages them to be open. This implies that open doors do not significantly increase the risk of claims. Here are some practical steps to mitigate risks and avoid potential problems:

Electronic security can protect the sanctuary from unwanted incursions and a safe can be installed for smaller financially or religiously valuable objects.
Some churches provide daytime access using a keypad lock. The code can be given to people who ask to visit without the need for someone to physically unlock the doors. At night the church can be locked more securely.
It may be possible to allow access to the narthex and to provide a kneeler and prayer resources in this area.
In many parishes there will be lay people prepared to organise and participate in a rota to unlock and lock church doors. In the early Church there was a lay ministry of the ostiary (usher) who opened the doors and received people. This could be revived.
For my part I encourage pilgrims who wish to visit churches on one of my pilgrim ways to check the parish website or phone the office in advance, and to remember that a single priest may be covering several churches and that he or she may live many miles away.
The National Churches Trust is a useful source of advice and information.

We may not be hiding our sanctuary lights under bushels, but too often they are concealed by fearfully locked doors. This does not present a spiritual confidence or a welcoming face to a society in desperate need of meaning and hope.

It is a widespread belief that the churches are in decline, and certainly this is undeniable in certain places. But there is also evidence of growth, and with 66% of UK adults saying they think that churches are important for society (according to a December 2023 opinion poll), closed doors risk alienating people from the Church at a time when it is most needed.

There are some inspiring prompts to encourage your local church to open its doors. The Catholic Church, for example, will be celebrating a Jubilee year in 2025 when the Holy Doors of the great Roman basilicas will be opened in an invitation to the world, setting a tone that could be echoed by the local church. Dioceses are producing resources to encourage churches to open their doors, for example, the Diocese of Ely's Visitor Welcome Toolkit .

And whether it is through new synodal practices being adopted by Catholics, or through a renewed desire to forge better local relationships among all denominations, Christians can demonstrate a spirit of openness. Churches can offer the local community a place of encounter, an experience of the sacred for seekers and a place of rest for the occasional footsore pilgrim!

Phil McCarthy is the Project Lead of the Hearts in Search of God pilgrim ways project.

[1] https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191023_udienza-generale.html

[2] https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2016/january/documents/papa-francesco_20160121_giubileo-operatori-santuari.html

This blog was first published on the website of Together for the Common Good (T4CG). Together for the Common Good is a national Christian charity dedicated to the renewal of the civic ecology by bringing covenantal thinking into church and civic life.

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New St Matthew's Way (West)

By Phil McCarthy • March 20, 2025

St Matthew's Way The western Pilgrimage of Hope Way from St David's Cathedral in Cardiff to St Barnabas' Cathedral in Nottingham via St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham and the Shrine of St Chad in Lichfield. Patron: St Melangell (c 7th or 8th Century) Welsh hermit, consecrated virgin and abbess. According to her hagiography, Melangell was a princess who fled an arranged marriage and became a consecrated virgin in the wilderness of Powys. She saved a hare from a prince's hunting dogs and is associated with protection of wildlife. Her feast is celebrated on 27th May. Overview: The Way starts at St David's Cathedral in Cardiff. The route soon joins the Welsh Coast Path to Newport and then Chepstow. Here the Way turns inland following the Offa's Dyke Path through the Wye Valley to Monmouth. The route follows the Wye Valley Walk to Ross-on-Wye where the Way joins the Herefordshire Trail to Ledbury. The Geopark Way and the Three Choirs Way (3CW) are followed over the Malvern Hills. After Malvern the Way continues on the 3CW until the River Severn is crossed and followed to Worcester. The Monarch's Way is followed to Droitwich Spa and then the John Corbett Way to Bromsgrove. Here the Monarch's Way is regained until just before Illey the Way diverts into central Birmingham along the Illey Way. From the Cathedral of St Chad in Birmingham the Way follows the St Chad's Way , at first along canal towpaths. The Way passes through Sutton Coldfield before joining the Heart of England Way to Lichfield. The route joins the Trent & Mersey Canal towpath to Burton upon Trent and then on to Sawley. Here the Way diverts to Long Eaton and then follows the Way of Blessed Cyprian Tansi along the Broxtowe Country Trail and finally the Beeston Canal towpath to central Nottingham and the Cathedral of St Barnabas. Essential facts: Route length: 215.6 miles Ascent: 11,178 ft Peak elevation: 1,378 ft Average walk day length: 14.5 miles Average walk day duration: 6 hours First walking day: Thursday 28th August 2025 Number of walking days: 14.5 Number of rest days: 1.5 End date: Saturday 13th September 2025 at St Barnabas' Cathedral, Nottingham Pilgrims are invited to join the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at 11.15 on Sunday 14th September at St Barnabas' Cathedral. Details of the day pilgrimage stages will be available when day pilgrimage booking opens in April 2025. See the route below.

New St Mark's Way (North)

By Phil McCarthy • March 20, 2025

St Mark's Way The northern Pilgrimage of Hope Way from the Cathedral Church of St Anne in Leeds to St Barnabas' Cathedral in Nottingham via the St Marie's Cathedral in Sheffield and the Chapel of the Padley Martyrs. Patron: St Hilda of Whitby (c. 614 – 680) abbess and key figure in the Anglo-Saxon Church. Hilda founded and was the first abbess of the monastery at Whitby which was the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. She was widely recognised for her wisdom and learning and trained five bishops. Her feast is celebrated on 17th November. Overview: The Way starts at Leeds Cathedral and follows the Transpennine Trail (TPT) SE beside the Aire & Calder Navigation to Mickletown. Here the path veers SW to continue on the TPT along a disused railway line and then the River Calder to Wakefield. The Way follows the TPT again beside the former Barnsley Canal and then along a disused railway to Wombwell. The route turns SW along the Barnsley Boundary Walk to Elscar, and then across farmland to briefly join the Old Salt Rd, beside the A629. The Way soon joins the Sheffield Country Walk and follows this beside the Sheffield Canal to reach St Marie's Cathedral in central Sheffield. From here the Way joins the Padley Martyrs Way , leaving the city through Endcliffe Park and then climbing Houndkirk Moor to arrive at the Chapel of the Padley Martyrs. The path then follows the River Derwent to Matlock. The Way leaves the Derwent at Ambergate and turns E, through Ripley and then along the former Cromford Canal to Eastwood. Here the route joins the Robin Hood Way to Strelley where the Way veers E to Kingsbury and finally reaches St Barnabas' Cathedral, central Nottingham. Essential facts: Route length: 107.6 miles Ascent 3,615 ft: The route is mostly flat with the only significant climb on Day 4 over Houndkirk Moor Peak elevation: 1,388 ft Average walk day length: 13.5 miles Average walk duration: 5-6 hours First walking day Sat 6 September 2025 Number of walking days: 8 Number of rest days: 0 Last walking day: Saturday 13 September: arrival at St Barnabas' Cathedral Nottingham for evening prayer and social celebration Sunday 14 September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: pilgrims are invited to join the 11.15 Solemn Mass at St Barnabas' Cathedral Details of the day pilgrimage stages will be available when day pilgrimage booking opens in April 2025. For a detailed map of the route click the button below.

New St Luke's Way (East)

By Phil McCarthy • March 20, 2025

St Luke's Way The eastern Pilgrimage of Hope Way from the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist in Norwich to the Cathedral Church of St Barnabas in Nottingham via the National Shrine of Our Lady at Houghton St Giles and the Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at King's Lynn. Patron : Julian of Norwich (c. 1343 – after 1416) English anchoress, mystic and theologian. Julian's writings, now known as Revelations of Divine Love, are the earliest surviving English-language works attributed to a woman. They are also the only surviving works by an anchoress in English. Her feast is celebrated on 13 th May. Overview The Way starts at the Cathedral and leaves the city along a disused railway line. The route follows the Walsingham Way along lanes to Great Ryborough. The path then follows the Way of the Annunciation to Fakenham and onto the National Shrine to Our Lady at Houghton St Giles and then Walsingham. The Way follows lanes to Dersingham and soon joins the Norfolk Coast Path to King's Lynn. The Way continues to Wisbech, Spalding, Bourne and then crosses farmland to join the Danelaw Way. The route continues along paths and tracks to Grantham. From there the route crosses farmland to Bingham and soon after joins the Trent Valley Way to central Nottingham and finally St Barnabas' Cathedral. Essential facts: Route length: 158.7 miles Ascent: 1,886 ft Peak elevation: 443 ft (the route is generally flat) Average walk day length: 15.8 miles Average walk day duration: 6 hours First walking day: Tuesday 2 September 2025 Number of walking days: 10 Number of rest days: 1 End date: Saturday 13th September 2025 at St Barnabas' Cathedral, Nottingham Pilgrims are invited to join the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at 11.15 on Sunday 14th September at St Barnabas' Cathedral. Details of the day pilgrimage stages will be available when day pilgrimage booking opens in April 2025. For a detailed map of the route click the button below.

New St John's Way (South)

By Phil McCarthy • March 20, 2025

St John's Way The southern Pilgrimage of Hope Way from Southwark and Westminster Cathedrals in London to St Barnabas' Cathedral in Nottingham via the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate & St Thomas of Canterbury in Northampton. Patron : St Anne Line (c. 1563 – 1601): English married lay woman, convert and martyr. After the death of her husband, who had been banished for attending Mass, Anne was active in sheltering clandestine Catholic priests. Finally arrested, she was condemned to death and executed at Tyburn. She was canonised in 1970. Her feasts are: 27th February (individual), 25th October (with the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales), 30th August (with SS Margaret Ward and Margaret Clitherow). Overview The Way starts at the Cathedral of St George in Southwark and crosses the River Thames to reach Westminster Cathedral. It then passes through Royal parks to the Shrine of the Tyburn Martyrs. At Paddington the Grand Union Canal is reached. Apart from optional diversions to churches the Canal arm is followed to Northolt where the Way joins the Dog Rose Ramble and then the Hillingdon Trail. At Bayhurst Woods the Way diverts W to Harefield and soon rejoins the Grand Union Canal. Apart from diversions to Rickmansworth, Abbots Langley (birthplace of Adrian IV, the only English pope), and Leighton Buzzard the Canal is followed to Newport Pagnall. After the town the route follows the Three Shires Way, then the Midshires Way, the Northamptonshire Round and finally the Nene Way to Northampton Cathedral. The path leaves the city and rejoins the Midshires Way to Arthingworth and soon after follows the Brampton Valley Way to Market Harborough. The Way continues N on the Rutland Way and then the Leicestershire Round. Where this bends W the path follows the Jubilee Way to Melton Mowbray. The Way crosses farmland to reach Willoughby-in-the-Wolds where it breifly re-joins the Midshires Way before diverting to Keyworth. The Way heads towards Nottingham, briefly following a disused railway line, to finally reach Nottingham Cathedral. Essential facts: Route length: 173.3 miles Ascent: 4,931 ft - the route is mostly very flat Peak elevation: 656 ft Average walk day length: 14.9 miles Average walk day duration: 6 hours Number of walking days: 11.5 Number of rest days: 1.5 Start date: Monday 1st September at St George's Cathedral, Southwark, London End date: Saturday 13th September 2025 at St Barnabas' Cathedral, Nottingham Pilgrims are invited to join the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at 11.15 on Sunday 14th September at St Barnabas' Cathedral. Details of the day pilgrimage stages will be available when day pilgrimage booking opens in April 2025. For a detailed map of the route click the button below.