Being a church tourist

It makes a change to be a 'real' visitor taking a tour around a historic church. Today, after our quarterly business meeting was completed, I and my fellow trustees of the Churches Tourism Association were shown around Dorchester Abbey , where we were meeting, by enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, Sue, and heard about the Abbey's schools work from education officer, Margaret. Sue explained how there has been settlement on the site of the village - and probably worship of some sort here or nearby - for thousands of years.

I'm a huge fan of wall paintings and finding the remains of pre-Reformation paint on statues and carving - Dorchester boasts both, with saints, a shrine and knights in a lofty, light church. There's a museum, an award-winning tea room and a lively events calendar: check out the programme for the incredibly varied, family-friendly Dorchester Festival (28th April - 8th May) with theatre, music, dance, food, poetry, art and crafts.

I was invited to become a trustee of the Churches Tourism Association (CTA) soon after starting work for the Methodist Church since encouraging visitors to our heritage sites and historic chapels is a key part of my role.

The CTA exists to persuade all Christian Churches that church buildings are at the forefront of mission and should receive investment and promotion as a resource to this end. The CTA's objectives are: • To promote among churches and others the need to welcome tourists/visitors; • To educate churches and others about the benefits to individuals and communities which can arise from such a welcome. And the CTA aims: • To encourage the sharing of good practice; • To provide appropriate resources to assist members in their work; • To assist the development of partnerships at national, regional and local level.

The CTA provides lots of case studies and resources on its website to support good practice and hosts an annual development and networking event. Presentations from last year's residential conference are available on the website, and details of this year's one-day covention in the autumn will be posted soon. If you welcome visitors to your church, are seeking to engage with the community and want to use your church buildings more creatively to improve your sustainability or want to intepret your history and architecture for mission, then the CTA is the organisation for you.