The £1m collection plate

By Brady Haran BBC News Online

The church is not shy about its aim

It is a typical story - a grand old church cannot afford renovations because its congregation is too small.

For St Mary's, a landmark building in the heart of Nottingham, the problem is brought into sharper relief because of another church just metres away.

The Unitarian Chapel next door was forced to close its doors and has since been converted into a trendy bar.

St Mary's is determined to avoid a similar fate.

But collection plates and church fetes are not going to raise the £1.25m required to improve the building, which is more than 600 years old.

Of that figure, £250,000 will be raised through asset sales, leaving the parish to raise another £1m.

Susan Rowe, who is leading the fund raising campaign, says: "This is a magnificent building and Nottingham does not have many buildings of note.

This nearby church was converted into a pub

"It is a shame that the resource is not being better used."

The main aim of the campaign is to replace the church's floor and heating, allowing it to be used more regularly for other events, such as musical concerts and drama productions.

As it stands now, the floor area is poorly designed for such events.

Ms Rowe says: "The buildings can function for church services and it is in good condition, but we are really looking to ensure the building has a long-term future.

"It is all about widening the use of the building. We need to bring more people in."

MRS FIX-IT

We don't mind being 'in your face'

Susan Rowe

Read about 'The church doctor'

The church's financial future may hinge on the hire fees associated with those events.

This hard-nosed business approach to the church may seem odd for a place of worship, but Ms Rowe says St Mary's can not depend solely on the collection taken from 70-odd worshippers who attend services on a Sunday morning.

And Ms Rowe makes no apologies for the church's overt campaign for funds, which includes bold blue banners draped from the fences.

"We don't mind being 'in your face'... if you don't tell people what you are doing, they will never know."

She also points out the church will still be giving something back to the community, allowing its hallowed halls to be used as a student resource.

"We are looking at arrangements with universities and colleges and developing ideas... one thing we are considering is having students come and use the church as a place to do drawings."

GRAND BUILDING

Pictures from St Mary's

360-degree view of the church

Whatever the future, Ms Rowe says it will be focused on the arts and the church's long tradition as a musical venue.

She explains: "When it comes to these additional uses, we certainly see arts as the best use."

An exhibition of paintings is already on show in a makeshift art gallery at one end of the church, and there are plans for a light-hearted display of cartoon drawings dubbed "God, that's funny!"

Ms Rowe says hosting such exhibitions involves "treading a fine line" with people's traditional views.

But then again, is it better than converting the whole building into a pub?