The Friends of the City Churches, a City of London charity, has celebrated 20 years of ‘Watching’ in London’s City Churches.
The celebration was led by the Bishop of London, the charity’s patron, together with three other City of London clergy taking part. He was joined by the attendees as he gave thanks to all the 297 volunteers who have Watched in the churches of the City of London enabling them to remain open to visitors.
A large procession of members and guests, led by the Chairman carrying the banner of the Friends of the City Churches, walked from the charity’s headquarters at St Mary Abchurch to reach the church of St Sepulchre without Newgate, where the first Watch took place in November 1995, 20 years ago almost to the day. They arrived to the sound of all twelve of St Sepulchre’s bells ringing out and calling all to the service.
The celebration service, which was designed to appeal to those of no faith as well as regular City church-goers, included the Vocal Consort from Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College and the Orlando Choir, also based in London. All 297 watchers’ names were listed in the order of service.
Nancy Branson of the Friends of City Churches, commented:
“Our Watchers have made a truly invaluable contribution to our churches and the heritage of the City. Many of our churches would have been closed for good without the dedication of the Watchers over a long period of time and we are immensely grateful for all their efforts.”
Throughout the years since 1995, Watching has taken place in 21 of the City Churches. Some of those churches now organise their own watchers and the Friends of City Churches (FCC) volunteers are currently watching in 17 churches with some 33 positions being filled every week throughout the year. Today there are between 85 and 91 active Watchers, almost 30 of whom have watched for ten years and ten of whom have watched for 15 or more years.
The aims of the Friends of the City Churches are:
To bring together the many people who love and value the City Churches
To help ensure that the churches remain accessible to the whole community
To help ensure their preservation for future generations
To encourage and foster a wider awareness and appreciation of the churches
To produce regular newsletters for members.
the Friends of the City Churches is friendly and active with events every month of the year. Further information about events and membership is available on their website www.london-city-churches.org.uk.