CLOSING A CHURCH - QUICK CHECK LIST
SOME SUGGESTIONS
THE EARLY STAGES
•	Pray about the future.
•	Consider where your church will be in 5 years’ time.
•	Distinguish between ‘closing’ a church, which is a body of people, and disposing of a building.  Both are
  	 important but not interlinked.  Indeed, either can happen without the other.  
•	 Has the church (body of people) considered if they wish to dispose of the premises, but meet 
       elsewhere, such as in a community space, or a nearby building of another denomination?  
•	Has the church considered uniting with another URC, either to make ‘one church on two sites’ or to 
 unite on one site?  Consider whether your church could benefit and benefit from uniting with another local church of another denomination.
•	If it is a management of building that is the issue, it is worth considering whether the church could
      continue without such a millstone.  Is it lack of people to serve as officers, to deal with
      policies/compliance, and might that burden be eased by uniting?
•	Look at ministry, finance, buildings, membership.
•	Do not wait until the church is really in decline.
•	Enlist help from Synod (or Methodist District if appropriate).
•	Consider setting up a group with minister or Interim Moderator, 2 or 3 Elders, and 2 or 3 from Synod.
•	Questionnaire to members & associates (adherents) about the situation and ways forward.
•	Take time to consider all possibilities - explore every possible alternative.
•	Pray about the future.
•	Circulate a list of all possibilities, including closure.
•	Keep all members and associates fully informed about what is happening or being explored, especially those who do not attend Church Meetings. Use every possible means to do this eg hand-outs, Sunday notices, magazines etc, so that no one can say "we did not know".
•	Accept that this process will take time because people do change their minds.
•	Undertake a whole church “Being Church” review. 
MAKING THE DECISION
•	If the above guidelines are followed the elders will have enabled informed decisions to be made at Church Meetings.  
•	The usual custom and practice in the URC is for the Church Meeting to resolve to close.  However, this is not always possible, particularly with small, elderly congregations.  In fact, the power to dissolve a congregation is a function of Synod.   The preferred course is for the local church to ask Synod for its approval to close and with that approval so resolve. Of course, if the members have already done this and dispersed, such a vote is a formality.  If church has thus dispersed without any church Meeting resolution, the Synod simply needs to declare the congregation formally dissolved from an appropriate date.  

•	Try to reach a unanimous, or agreed, decision by the Elders to go as a recommendation to the Church Meeting.
•	Have a meeting with members and associates to discuss the possibility of closure but where no decision will be taken.
•	Hold the Church Meeting where the vote is taken immediately after a service so that it is in the context of worship.
•	Ensure that a member of Synod is present.
•	The Church Meeting could vote to have a secret ballot, which should then take place. 
•	Provide pastoral care for those upset about the decision.
•	Expect complaints from people who were previous members but have not attended for years.
•	Be prepared for a reaction by families of those whose ashes have been scattered or buried in the grounds - deal with these sympathetically - agree a press line with Synod to be prepared if the issue is raised in the local press.
THE FINAL SERVICE
•	Plan this as a group.
•	Think carefully about who should be asked to preach.
•	Involve as many people as possible, including children and young people.
•	Consider including a "Procession of History".
•	Do not assume that the minister (if you have one) will want to do too much in this service.
•	Make a careful list of who should be invited eg past ministers, regular lay preachers.
•	Have something for people to take away from the service eg a cross. Take these to people who missed the service through illness, etc. and to the housebound.
DISPOSAL OF CONTENTS
•	The locally held assets, both moveable contents (not fixtures or fittings) and ‘cash in the bank’, are held for the charitable purposes of the URC, and until the moment of ‘closure’ could legally be given for anything supporting the charitable purposes of the URC eg to another congregation of the URC.  It would not be lawful to give away assets outwith the charitable purposes of the URC eg making financial donations to a dogs’ home.  It is the practice that any remaining such assets after the point of closure would become the property of the Synod at that point.   
•	Make sure one person, and one person only, is in charge of the complete list of contents.
•	Nothing should be given, promised, or taken without this person being consulted.
•	Keep a detailed register of all gifts, donations and where the objects/contents end up.
•	Be sensitive when disposing of any items. Consult donors or their relatives and consider.
               offering things back to them
•	Let the congregation take souvenirs - hymn books, Bibles, plates, cups etc
•	Offer things to local churches - especially those with links, including ecumenical ones.
•	Wedding registers must go to the Registry Office and a Notice of Closure must be signed.
•	Be alert for local needs and requests by charities etc. The Mercy Ships often need Bibles.
•	Consider offering items of interest to a local museum.

Disposal of a building
The usual practice has been to request that the Church meeting passes a resolution under paragraph 2 of the schedule to the URC Act.  This is perfectly in order, but is not required.  If a building is redundant and there is no longer a Church Meeting, it can be disposed of under paragraph 5 by using the District Council.  
Where next?
•	Decide whether you are going to move on as a group or go separate ways.
•	Give people time and space.
•	Acknowledge the need to grieve.
•	Recognise the need to find a comfortable new spiritual home - by trying several churches.
•	Continue to provide pastoral care until people are settled in a new church.
•	Be aware of the extra needs of people ill or bereaved at the time of closure.
•	Ensure the housebound continue to receive pastoral care/home communion etc.
•	Realise that there will be a loss of network to pass round news eg of deaths.
•	Hold at least two Elders Meetings after closure.
FINANCE
Early in the process
•	Keep the insurance company fully informed of changing situations.
•	Give organisations using buildings warning/notice of closure.
•	Transfer any money in High Interest Accounts to the current account as closure approaches. 
Closure
•	Make full list of all Direct Debits & Standing Orders out of church accounts.
•	Find out cancelling procedures, and deal with those not needed for last few weeks.
•	Ensure all payments into accounts are closed eg members' offertories 
•	Take final gas, water, electricity readings. Inform suppliers. Settle final bills.
•	Check whether these are terminated or the responsibility of some other body eg, Synod
•	Inform insurance company.
•	Distribution of assets – 
o	Church buildings: Three Way Meeting (church/Synod/trustee) decides distribution of proceeds from sale of site if the local church is to pass the resolution.   Alternatively, the district council of the Synod may meet with the local church and recommend disposal with no resolution from the church being necessary.   The district council will meet if there is no agreement between the church and synod.
o	Church funds: Church Meeting decides where money in General Fund should go -consider local churches, local charities and causes which the church has supported in the past
•	Plan to leave at least £100 in the current account. When ALL cheques are cleared, withdraw the remaining balance and donate as agreed by the final Church Meeting.
•	Ascertain from bank the correct closing procedure.
•	Final Church Meeting should agree that Elders can accept final statement of accounts.
•	The final Elders Meeting may be 3 months after closure.
•	The final/closing Accounts must be scrutinized and then sent to the Synod Treasurer as soon as possible after the official closure.
•	All Church accounts from the previous six years should be scanned and sent electronically to the Synod Treasurer

Above all trust in God for the future