A parish success story from the North West

Back in 2018 my church was told by the great and the good in Liverpool Diocese that we must change the way the whole church operated. We were bullied and forced into a ‘Hub’ and our centuries-old parish was nullified and absorbed into one containing churches in a four mile vicinity. Suddenly, we could no longer decide anything for ourselves, and everyone we had never met could have a vote on what happened to our building, our finances, and our congregation. Though many cried and a lot more shouted, this was forced through and our congregations dwindled. There was a LOT of pain. We lost more than just people – we lost legacies to ensure our church building was safe, and Parish Share rose. We kept being told that our church buildings didn’t matter – it was our congregations – they were the key – and they could meet anywhere.

Then Covid 19 happened – a blessing for those disciples of the new ‘Hubs’ as they swiftly closed us down and forbade us entry to our churches,. Eventually, we were allowed to open twice a week for two hours for Private Prayer as long as we all kept apart, but the damage had been done – they had frightened our elderly and vulnerable parishioners, and some never came back. All this while the Catholic churches remained open. After lockdown, though we had been the largest CofE church in our area with the biggest congregations at mid-week and three Sunday services – 9am Morning Prayer, 10am Holy Communion and 6pm Evensong, these were reduced to just one Sunday Family service at 11am. Our ‘Hub Leader’ came from an IT background and made us use screens – with Muppet-like cartoon characters on. I strode out of church, followed by many more, and to this day we do not have screens in our church unless it is a special children’s service/event.

All the while PCC and other meetings carried on – online via Zoom, Skype and Meetings – all very good for those with excellent IT skills, but the majority of parishioners simply did not have this then. Our people simply did not know what was happening at church, or if it was, and by whom. At this point, I began producing the church magazine and during the evenings I would personally deliver free copies to over 80 households, keeping them uplifted, informed, and sharing the word of Jesus. As I was on the PCC by this time it was the only way I could keep people abreast of church news. I have been told since by some who received them that the magazine was the only way they knew anything about church and they were very grateful to receive it, but the Hub Leader was very angry with me, and tried (unsuccessfully) to stop me doing the magazine. Today I sell an average of 65 copies each month – a resounding success.

At the Hub PCC meetings I was often the only dissenter – to me it seemed that the rest were just sheep passing everything put to the vote, and I questioned most things. We hadn’t had our own vicar for over five years, and now they wanted to close us. I was summoned to the Vicar’s house to speak about my attitude; we now have what I consider to be a very good working relationship. 4 years later after a PCC meeting I was astonished when members from the other churches came up to me and thanked me for everything I had done – they said it gave them the fight to stand up and regain their backbone and fight for their own church – a reaction I wasn’t expecting – but this has happened on several occasions from different meetings, and in the past my congregations’ attendance was limited at both Deanery Synod and PCC – now we have four on Deanery Synod and three on the PCC, with one member on the Hub Leadership Team (HLT) and three of us are on the Hub Communications Team. Not bad for a church thought to be awkward and non-participating.

My congregation were constantly being told by the then Wardens that our church was in fine fettle and paying its way, and so I became Gift Aid Secretary where I finally (after being blocked by said Wardens for three years) found out the truth of our finances – shockingly poor. It galvanised me to get out the message that if we didn’t do something drastic we would lose our church – and from three people in charge of our church we now have a regular team of over twenty volunteering weekly or monthly on a rota: Leadership, Communication, Premises Team, Worship and Missional team, Events and Fundraising, Garden Gang, Cleaning and Hospitality teams, Home Communions at care homes and private houses, and the Telephone Prayer Chain – this has been a success and offered solace and faith to the vulnerable. Members regularly attend the Working Together Conferences and Greenhouse Gatherings to grow, cultivate and refresh our worshipping communities. As many wish to remain with church our Garden of Remembrance has been extended and consecrated by the Bishop.

We continue with mid-week Morning Prayer and our Sunday services continue to alternate between priest-led Holy Communion and Lay Reader-led Morning Prayer. Sunday attendances average 70 including children, and our new Sunday school and Parade Services by our youth organisations regularly have over 20 children, linking with the local Nursery and School, and continue to flourish, sharing information weekly, and regularly using church for special nursery and school services at which we welcome both the children and their families. We also deliver a monthly service in school leading to some being confirmed. We also combine with the Hub Family Team and support their regular events. Our Boys Brigade, Rainbows and Brownies continue to thrive and assist at both church services/ events and weeding in the grounds.

Our Baptism Team attend preparation classes and we conduct weddings and funerals, with more booked for later in the year and 2026. We have a regular ten-strong choir.

We were told that our social and community events were not important, but sometimes this is the first step into the church to join our church family: we held a Ukulele Night, a resounding success, and back in the schedule for next year. The Children’s Easter Extravaganza had both parents and children entertained. Walking Day was a great day in the local community, with comments from locals whose houses we walked past saying ‘we’ve missed this’; this was a joint-faith event with youth organisations, schools and brass bands. It was a glorious sunny day filled with excitement and community spirit. We hope this year’s to be even better. The Summer Kids Festival was a wonderful success where DBS-cleared volunteers ran a very happy and noisy informative fun-filled free day with ponies, policewomen and much more.

Other massive successes were the Strawberry Fair, from this a couple who were walking past decided to join us and enjoyed it so much they attended church the next day – small steps, but worth it. The Jigsaw Festival raised £1,674.78, the Harvest Festival and Harvest Supper raised £413.71, all this is in a deprived community. Our Harvest Thanksgiving offerings were again distributed to the Food Pantry, with the Barn Dance raising £362.50, and the whole town was brought together for Remembrance Sunday at the cenotaph. Our Christmas Fair was an immense success raising £1,588.03, as was the Kids Movie Night, with the Christmas Carol Service extremely well attended. The appeals for Kid’s Pyjamas and the Christmas shoe box appeal are more successes, with the Lottery Bonus Ball raising £1,400.

Our support mornings are now firmly in place, bringing in both added revenue and new people, and some now attend other events/worship. Our meeting room was opened to provide refreshments and support for a local leg of the Ladies’ Cycle Race of Great Britain in June, and also for a local Litter Pick.

Our Men’s Group work tirelessly to look after our church building, and the Women’s Guild continue to support the congregations and local community with their good works.

We continue to support Hub prayer events and in December we also held Carol singing at Tescos, much appreciated by customers and staff alike. We have an asylum family who have been absorbed into the church family and culture, all being baptised, and the parents confirmed. Our Church Facebook page is a resounding success locally and internationally, operating 24/7 ministry accepting prayer requests and passing on information. Monthly the page is viewed in excess of 10,000 times, offering information on upcoming events, and offering prayer support when needed. Its aim is to encourage and help others within the Christian faith.

We were approached by local Councillors to run a weekend of events to celebrate 80 years since VE Day, and our church held a History Event with stalls about life in the 1940s. Free food, an inter-faith school reading competition and raffle culminating with a Brass Band Concert on Sunday evening was a real treat involving the whole town.

We have our own dedicated Safeguarding Officer and our teams’ dedication has resulted in a large portfolio of certificates from training such as for Fire Warden, Hospitality, DBS, etc. whilst our Assistant Church Treasurer holds church finances stable with a steady rise in income and Gift Aid, as we continue to pay our amount of Parish Share, etc. The purchase of a card machine and in-house Wi-Fi has proved to be a blessing, especially at occasional services. The income raised from events such as these remains vital to ensure Church continues to play a central role in our community.

That does not mean we are without problems – there is still, from time to time, differences of opinion on how to do things within our own church, and PCC feels like a waste of time as our new Worship portfolio lead forgets that people have an opinion on things and decisions should be made democratically, not as a fait accompli. But our Deanery Synod has taken a turn for the better in that it now holds Joint Council accountable, whereas for 5 years it has been just a listening board for their decisions.

We have suffered:

• ‒ Leaking roof
• ‒ Falling lime plaster ‒ Dwindling resources
• ‒ Apathy as services did not feel familiar or real ‒ Forced evangelism
• ‒ Parish Share increasing

and lots more, and when it came to the Right Building Review we were marked as red and marked for releasing, after being told that ‘bums on seats don’t matter’. Though we were a successful church, our mission and ministry in the wider community was not seen as enough – this when other churches had just eleven regular attendees on Sunday. This inspired me to fight harder and longer and get the decision reversed.

Two of the churches voted to be released last April are in very different circumstances – one has been leased to another faith community with rights to carry out church services/events for the original worshipping community. This is seen as a great success of the release scheme. The other church is hanging in the balance as the three stalwarts who ran the church for years now have all left and the attendance is only eight – by none of whom live in the church village.

Indeed, at present my church is hailed as a success with two of the churches who were originally marked as green now worried about closure and struggling to pay their own Parish Share. The Right Buildings Review continues to bring the best of our abilities out as we await the next review in October, but Hubs do not help, it is the actual realisation that we needed to be more proactive that has galvanised our congregations and inspired our moving forward.

DO NOT GIVE UP! Fight to keep your own parish and involve your local community and your congregation will grow.