Getting a Faculty

Before any major work is done in a church it is necessary to obtain a faculty. This is as it should be.

It can, however, be the case that small jobs could be done without the need for a faculty and some very necessary jobs have all kinds of conditions placed on them. As is common with human beings, those who invent rules may not always have the interests of a parish and the people in mind. As a species humans seem to enjoy placing restrictions on what others can do - just for the sheer hell of it.

I know of a case where an organ needed rebuilding but it was thought necessary - by the men in suits - to take it back to the condition it was in when first installed and the 'modern' full pedal board, added by a builder in the 1970s would have had to be removed, making the instrument useless for 21st century worship. Needless to say the work was not done and the organ is falling apart.

Also, a church wanted a modern bell frame but were not allowed to remove the old wooden one, just in case somebody in the future wanted to see it.

Yes, there needs to be a veto on ripping things out of churches but there comes a point when the church is living in the past.