On Wednesday 9 October the diocesan support team hosted a one-day ‘Smaller Churches Conference’ at The Pear Tree Inn, Worcester. This sell-out conference was attended by almost 90 delegates from smaller churches across the Diocese.
The day was designed with the aim of bringing together key representatives from smaller churches to share the joys, challenges and learning of ministering to a smaller congregation.
To start the day The Revd Alison Maddocks, Dean of Smaller Churches, gave a short introduction.
Highlighting the packed room, she said:
“Isn’t it great to see how BIG our smaller churches are!” She added “You are all amazing! It’s you who are upholding our Church of England commitment to ensuring there is a Christian presence in every community."
Alison also used feathers as a prop to emphasise an inspirational message of encouragement, that whilst individually all our churches are unique and beautifully made, it is by joining together, that a wing can be formed to lift up and take flight!
Following this there was a short time of worship and prayer before the main address.
Bishop Martin welcomed everyone to the conference and thanked everyone for all they do, ensuring the church is at the heart of our smaller communities as the diocese would not exist without this. Bishop Martin also talked about his own experiences of being a parish vicar in a variety of settings including rural settings. He talked about how busy those roles can be, how you can have many jobs, but how important it is not to lose sight of the main job; to bring people to God and God to people, through the power of the Holy Spirit and in union with Christ. He thanked those who are doing this very important work day to day, and encouraged anyone struggling to seek support.
Bishop Martin added:
'What the diocesan staff and the diocesan office really are is the parish support team. Every day they're out and about supporting our almost 300 churches."
The rest of the morning was devoted to a series of short presentations to introduce the key topics that were then discussed further during the afternoon breakout sessions. These were:
- An introduction to the diocesan transformation strategy – Damian Herbert
- Environmental Justice and Eco churches - Damian Herbert and Sue Adeney
- Church Buildings – Mark Carter
- An Archdeacon’s perspective – Mark Badger
- New Worshipping Communities – Kim Brown
- Children and Young People – Simon Hill
- Finances and Stewardship – Chris Boden
- Equipping Ministers for Mission – Doug Chaplin and Janet Fox
- New Housing – Mark Badger
All the above presentations can be watched here: Smaller Churches Conference presentations. The main aim of these presentations was to make delegates aware of the grants and other kinds of help that are available from the diocesan support team.
There was also a speech from representatives of the “Muddy Boots” Rural Mission Area in Teme Valley talking about the challenges but also the opportunities of joining together and sharing resources across a wider area.
During the afternoon session, after the breakout sessions, there was also an extra presentation from Lisa McNeilly, Director of Public Health for Worcestershire who is inviting churches to partner with them and become part of the Healthy Worcestershire Programme. Grants of up to £3K are available to churches hosting groups in the community that will improve health and wellbeing, and all churches need do to apply is send an email to the Healthy Worcestershire team.
Finally, Alison invited delegates to come to the front and share their good news stories so as to lift up and encourage each another. Stories of hope from across the diocese were then shared. Quite a few of these stories were about finding more ways to reach out to our communities, for example Sue Adeney shared information on her Beer and Ethics Lent series and how this format can be replicated anywhere. Several other attendees shared success stories of how more children and young people are coming to faith. This included details of an eco-picnic for families with nature themed activities and a quiet space to just sit and listen to the natural world. There were also encouraging stories shared of volunteers from several churches joining together to host community events.
The feedback from the day was excellent with lots of people saying they found it very informative and useful, and they now have a lot to report back on!
Closing the day Alison invited everyone to a celebration of the life of smaller churches due to take place in the Spring next year.
If you are from a smaller church and want to find out more about anything mentioned here or in the videos, please contact the Tranformation Support Hub team.
There are more photos of the conference on our Facebook page:
