Welcome to the Arthur Rank Centre website
The Arthur Rank Centre is a Registered Charity supported by the National Churches, the Royal
Agricultural Society of England and the Rank Foundation to serve the rural community and its
churches.
The ARC has put together a selection of resources for use
when celebrating Harvest. You can download them
here.
National Care Farming Initiative - Catch up on all
the latest news about NCFI and care farming in the UK with their
latest Newsletter
(472Kb).
The 3rd
National Care Farm Conference "Care
Farming – Working Partnerships" is on 16th September 2010 at Harper Adams
University College, Shropshire 9.30am – 4.30pm. Download your booking
form here
(505Kb).
Places of
Worship @ The Heritage Alliance (POWAlliance) is the voice for all voluntary
sector organisations promoting the sustainability and community benefit of
historic places of worship. It is an action-oriented national forum designed
to strengthen the voice of historic places of worship in national debates.
The link to their manifesto is:
http://www.heritagelink.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/THA_POW_manifesto_imposed.pdf
3-5 Nov 2010
“Faith & the Future of the Countryside” is a major three-day ecumenical symposium
helping mark 20 years since the publication of the landmark "Faith in the Countryside" report, at The Hayes Conference Centre,
Swanwick, Derbyshire. All details are available on the symposium website at:
www.rural20.org
18 September 2010 ‘Growing Organically’ Conference. This conference will cover the importance of
church land management. It will also give practical examples of projects and open up opportunities to see what conservation
potential church land may hold. The main speakers will be Professor Sir Ghillean Prance and Bishop James Jones, followed by
informative and interactive workshops. A
flyer and booking form are available here
(72Kb).
“Re-Shaping Rural Ministry: a theological & practical
handbook” has recently been published by Canterbury Press; it has
been jointly edited by
Dr. Jill Hopkinson (the
Church of England National Rural Officer) based at
the
Arthur Rank Centre. Copies
can be obtained from us at
£14.99
plus 75p for P&P. Email our Training & Resources Officer at
laurac@rase.org.uk or phone h
er on
024-7685-3060 to get a copy.
“The Farming Thing: a layman’s guide
to farming” by Rev. Stuart Wilson is a high
quality, full colour & informative 100-page guide. All profits from sales
are being split equally between the charities
Farm Crisis Network,
Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) & the
Arthur Rank Centre itself. Email our Training &
Resources Officer at laurac@rase.org.uk or phone her on
024-7685-3060 to get a copy - £6.75 each including P&P.
Raise money for free for the Arthur
Rank Centre by using Everyclick.com as your web searcher. Go to
http://www.everyclick.com/arc or contact us for more information.
Charitable Objectives
- To be a focus and resource for the work of the Christian churches in rural areas through the
sharing of good practice, the provision of training and the encouragement of Christian ministry;
- To lead the Christian churches in their efforts to improve the quality of life of those living
and working in rural communities;
- To develop greater understanding between urban and rural communities, through the linking of
churches and other faith groups;
- To engage in research to support and develop the work of the Charity;
- To provide a chaplaincy to the Royal Agricultural Society of England
Website last updated:
24 July 2010 11:49
The Centre was named after Lord Rank who donated the original building. It was opened by the Queen
at the Royal Show in 1972 and is the recognised national rural resources unit for the churches. It
is also a project base for innovative thinking and wide ranging work in both economic and community
development in the countryside.
In 2002 the ARC moved to its current home in a newly refurbished building on the show ground
adjacent to the Grand Ring.
Key points
- Church Pavilion at the Royal Show and the Town and Country Festival, hosted by the ARC since 1972.
- Rural Ministry Induction Courses held twice a year (May and Nov.) since 1982.
- Arthur Rank Training, set up in 1981 to give work-based training opportunities and personal
and social development skills to disadvantaged young people. ART became an independent charity
in 2002.
- Living Churchyard Project, started in 1986 to increase environmental awareness in the
churches and to encourage the use of churchyards as a community environmental resource.
- Arthur Rank Centre Environmental Trust began in 1996 to help churches and community groups
access funding from the Landfill tax credit scheme.
- National Churches Tourism Group, established in 1997 (now an independent charity).
- Green Ribbon Campaign, launched in 2000 to raise public awareness of the problems affecting
farming, and encourage support for and understanding of the farming community.
- ARC-Addington Fund, set up in 2001 during the outbreak of Foot and Mouth to provide financial
help to the victims of the crisis. Responded to over 20,500 appeals for help and distributed
£10.3 million. Now an independent charity focusing on strategic housing for those who have
to exit non-viable rural businesses.
- Farm Crisis Network, was established as an independent charity by the ARC and the Agricultural
Christian Fellowship. It now has over 300 volunteers in regional groups across the country,
who provide essential support to individuals and families suffering from a wide range of
problems related to farming. Also operates a national helpline service.
- The Centre for Studies in Rural Ministry operates as a partnership between the ARC, the
University of Wales and St. Deiniols Library offering post-graduate courses in rural ministry.
- Hidden Britain Centres is about economic regeneration through community based tourism.
A highly successful pilot project in Cumbria (funded by the DTI) is now being rolled out
to the rest of the country.
- Eco-congregation was a government initiative to raise community awareness of environmental
issues through local churches. The responsibility for the development of the project in England
moved to the ARC in 2004.
- Computers for Rural People - the Arthur Rank Centre
sources high quality,
fully-refurbished, ex-government computer equipment available at very competitive prices for
anybody working in, with or for rural communities.
Links
rusource
rural worship
materials
rural
ministry resources
country way
book reviews
lfirc database
rural officers resources
Key Rural
References Database
