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All I have been away from my e-mail for a few days, and am now catching up - I have read Holly's e-mail and will confine these comments to Nicola's e-mail and the second half of Holly's. For over 10 years I have worked in the church / cathedral sector as a volunteer in tourism and pilgrimage and in fact I am one of those who do believe that museum theory can, and should be applied to religious buildings, that is why I value being on the gem mailing list - I have also contributed replies at times. I would however suggest that the word "Some" is added to Nichola's e-mail. My experience is trying to explain to those responsible for churches why interpretation of their history is important - for the reasons Nichola gives - can be met with indifference and even a refusal to consider the question. I have worked, at times, with both the Churches Conservation Trust and the National Churches Trust but these bodies are primarily set up to maintain the church buildings, whereas many churches see their purpose as promoting the Christian faith (Mission) this perceived clash between mission and maintenance being the problem. There are other groups working in this field whose training, and materials, I have used and can recommend: The church visitor and tourism association http://cvta.org.uk/ The Historic Religious Buildings Alliance http://www.hrballiance.org.uk/ I would love to hear from others, perhaps by direct e-mail, about their experiences in the area of working with parish churches in particular. Regards Nick On 17-Jul-18 11:23, Nicola Bell wrote: > > Hello Nick and all > > Churches and cathedrals definitely see their buildings as historic > sites containing all sorts of important objects, and they provide > learning resources (formal and informal) to visitors of all faiths and > none. They might not be Accredited Museums but they look after and > interpret their buildings and collections for visitors, and explaining > aspects of the Christian faith helps people understand how the > buildings and objects are used, and why they were built or created in > a particular way. > > A good example is Durham Cathedral’s Open Treasure exhibition, and > there will be plenty more. Sharing good practice and learning what > works – and what isn’t so successful – from other places is a good > thing. See also http://www.inspirednortheast.org.uk/spirit-in-stone > > Best wishes > > Nicola > > Nicola Bell > > culture-evaluation-learning > E: [log in to unmask] > > *From: *Nick <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > *Sent: *15 July 2018 16:44 > *To: *[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > *Subject: *Re: Abbey / church / monastery visits > > I guess that most of the great engagement is done at a local level > with (in the church of England) incumbents working with their local > schools. The same applies to cathedrals where most will have education > officer - who probably are not members of this group. Remember for > many of these people their primary aim is to encourage people to > explore the Christian faith and will not view their Church / Cathedral > as an historic site and would run away from anyone likening it to a > museum. > > I am sorry to be cynical but I am always wary of, a freelancer asking > on the GEM group for examples, and / or saying they are "doing some > research". During my own research I have found many excellent examples > of engagement for children in churches but many of the examples are > copyright, and I do not have any rights to them and others have been > found through work I have undertaken for churches or developed for > local schools. > > Lastly a use of the correct terms in a search engine would bring up > links which would lead to many of the items I have, or the people to > contact. I would start with > > https://www.religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk/resources/ > > Nick > > On 11-Jul-18 14:27, Lyndsey Clark wrote: > > Hello lovely GEM people, > > Has anybody come across any really great engagement for children / > families at an abbey / church or monastery site? Or maybe you want > to blow your own trumpet about your activities at a site like > this? I’m doing some research into what’s great and what’s not and > would love to hear about any examples you’d like to share 😊 > > Thank you > > Lyndsey > > Lyndsey Clark > > Interpretation - Exhibitions - Engagement projects > > www.ltclark.co.uk <http://www.ltclark.co.uk> > > @ltclarkuk > > + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + GEM list: Contact the list > owner for assistance at [log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]> Anyone can join for free at > any time by sending this message to [log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>: Join GEM Firstname Secondname > Include only the text above, without email signature etc. The > title of the email doesn’t matter. 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