Posted on: 7th November 2023

The recent Diocese of Leeds Churchyard Conference held at St Stephen’s Bowling in Bradford, focused on how churchyards can be used missionally for wildlife, spaces for children and youth and as heritage hubs. The over 50 attendees were treated to a local curry at lunchtime. Managing churchyards for wildlife was the most popular part of the day and features along with ten other suggested ways to make use of your churchyard in the new Churchyard Toolkit. 

Every churchyard is different, ranging from those that can be a haven for biodiversity, to showcase for God’s wonderful creation, to intensely used play spaces or urban parks which bless your community by capturing carbon, improving air quality and reducing flood risk. They can provide a space of welcome for everyone for worship, reflection and restoration.

New Churchyard Toolkit

Launched at the Churchyard Conference 4^th October, this new toolkit for parishes offers a helping hand to make the most of your churchyard. Whatever the size and context of your churchyard, this God-given piece of land, has the potential to be cherished and to serve the church and the wider community.

Packed with ideas and practical advice the toolkit takes you through six steps for a fruitful churchyard, to help you develop an actionable plan for your churchyard. It offers guidance on things to consider for each type of churchyard use eg when developing a quiet garden, a heritage hub or an energy generation hub. 

For more information and to download the Churchyard Toolkit, click here.