St Leonard’s Church, Scawsby, in Doncaster launched ‘Messy Church’ before lockdown and within six months, a new church community was established – which continues to thrive today. The vast majority, more than 80 percent of those attending did not previously come to church on Sunday.Father David D’Silva, Priest-in-Charge at St Leonard’s Scawsby (with St Luke’s Scawthorpe) explained how the new church community was first started:"With any new venture, what we try to do at St Leonard’s, is to begin by creating a community. “We brought a group of people together who didn’t really know anything about church, and we created a place where people could feel accepted and loved.“We stick to the Messy Church formula – gathering, activities, worship, and a meal – while still being firmly rooted within the Catholic tradition of the Church of England.”Father David explained that the existing Sunday congregation also played a crucial role in helping to form the new Messy Church community.“We had people in the existing congregation who were able to help with Messy Church and who were also willing and able to be natural evangelisers for it.“There are also five primary schools in the parish, who aren’t church schools. “We are blessed that so many took up the invitation, seeing new people come to discover Messy Church, has been really joyful.”Father David said the feedback has been very positive from those taking part and that there is an expressed desire for the Messy Church sessions to continue:"Parents have told us that their children know Wednesday from the different days of the week, because Wednesday is Messy Church Day! “We only do Messy Church during term-time, but the kids keep asking when it’s coming back.“It’s been a real joy to see it start from nothing and then take on a life of its own,” he reflected. The Messy Church movement was set up by the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) 18 years ago, offering mainly families and children food, activities such as arts, crafts and sports and worship. The movement has spread across the world, with churches meeting on Saturdays and weekdays as well as Sundays.The Church of England's Vision and Strategy for the 2020s is helping us to be a Church which proclaims and lives out the Good News of Jesus Christ afresh in every generation.
The Church of England has launched a 10-point strategy to help its thousands of rural churches survive and thrive.Many provided cool sanctuaries during the recent record-breaking temperatures – but they have the potential to play a much more strategic community role.The CofE has published 'How Village Churches Thrive,' a practical guide to help the churches – many of them historic listed buildings with small congregations – have a sustainable future.The strategy sets out 10 key areas "where applying relatively small changes can make a big difference to the revitalisation, recovery and renewal of our village churches, amplifying the efforts that may well be happening already."The publication comes as many rural churches are facing increasing pressures – financial, demographic and with the upkeep of buildings – to continue as centres of mission and ministry.In many places, one priest will serve several congregations, going from church to church each Sunday, or across a month.The 10 key recommendations set out in the strategy are:Extend a warm welcome. Think carefully and objectively about who your welcome is aimed at. Structure your welcome around strangers to the church, rather than those who are already friends.Make the most of life events – weddings, baptisms and funerals. Many people's first contact with church begins through the church being there for them at life's big moments.Use buildings creatively. With thought and planning, your buildings can provide opportunities for people to connect with the community.Care for 'God's Acre.' Your churchyard can be a haven for wildlife, and for people too. You can engage the whole community in loving and caring for the churchyard.Be the 'heartbeat' of a village community. Your church could affect positive change in village life. Leading a community audit could be an important place to start.Celebrate your heritage. The history of the church buildings presents an opportunity for churches to connect with new people of all ages and backgrounds.Cultivate fruitful festivals. Festivals across the year provide ideal opportunities to celebrate, be innovative and creative, and – in partnership with schools, businesses and local groups – to welcome others of every age group.Welcome more children. Engaging with younger people is a priority for the CofE nationally – and village settings can offer great opportunities for creative ministry with children. Projects formed in partnership, especially with local schools, are most likely to thrive.Reach the isolated and lonely. Village churches are in 'the perfect position' to make a positive impact on isolation and loneliness.Communicate effectively. Focused communication supports your parish vision and strategy and ensures that all your efforts have more chance of being effective.Comedian Hugh Dennis, whose father was a bishop of a largely rural diocese, wrote the foreword for the guide. He commended the strategy for identifying "simple ideas to involve people of all ages in building a welcoming, long lasting and thriving church community."Church House Publishing, who published the new guide, describe it as "Packed with practical advice and inspiring case studies to encourage and increase confidence in all who work or worship in a village church."All the book's contributors are active in supporting the growth of rural churches through their roles in the Church of England or through organisations such as the Arthur Rank Centre, the Churches Conservation Trust, and Caring for God's Acre.Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and the author of 'Responding to Post-truth.'
The ‘Bubble Church’ at Ascension in Balham, launched under lockdown in October 2020, takes its name from the socially distanced ‘bubbles’ in which parents and children gathered for the new church. The Sunday morning congregation now attracts around 80 parents and children every week for worship, prayer and Bible stories and a craft activity for the whole family.It has been so popular that the number of baptisms of babies and children at Ascension has tripled from an average of five, to 10 last year and 15 due to take place this year. The success of the church has also helped other areas of church life – the Sunday school at the church’s 10.30 service has grown with children who used to attend Bubble Church and a new mid-week group has been formed by ‘Bubble Church’ parents – the majority of whom were not previously churchgoers - to study the Bible and pray.Vicar Marcus Gibbs said: “There are lots of young families in Balham, most of whom have no connection with church, and Bubble Church was our experiment to see if we could connect with them."It uses a simple formula and allows everyone regardless of their knowledge of the Christian faith to join and learn together. We thank God for the success of Bubble Church and hope that we may see this successfully adopted in other churches."The Bubble church formula will now be expanded to five other churches in Southwark Diocese with help from a £250,000 Innovation Funding grant from the Church of England.
