Former Corporate HR Manager, Grace Wigglesworth, has been Operations Manager for Kingswinford parish for just over a year. With her professional background Grace’s strengths lie in community engagement and communication, securing funds and ensuring church building improvements are carried out in a sustainable and timely fashion. Her work is already making a difference to the whole Kingswinford community about which she is so passionate.
This three-year role is funded by the national church as part of our renewals project looking to grow the congregations that attend Church of the Ascension (CoA) in Wall Heath and St Mary’s Church Kingswinford. Grace has lived in Kingswinford parish all her life as have her family for many generations, with St Mary’s Church holding special significance.
Grace said:
“The Kingswinford community means a huge amount to me. Before maternity leave I was an HR Manager for the global retail company H&M, responsible for an area stretching from Sheffield to Leamington and I travelled a lot. Since becoming a mum though, I’ve stayed local, spending a lot of time with the ‘Mainly Music’ toddler group at St Mary’s Church and visiting the nearest coffee shops. I’ve had so much support from so many people across the parish and seen the real benefit of community. When I first saw this role being advertised while on maternity leave, I knew it would be the perfect way to give back.”
Grace made an impact from her very first month: “I set up a crowdfunding campaign to repair CoA’s prominent church clock. I reached out to local businesses, community organisations, and schools, through visits, leaflets, and social media. I set a goal of £800, and we raised £1,500 in under a month,” she recalls. “It showed how much the community values the church, even those who don’t attend regularly, and because it came from the community, that one felt special!”
Since then, Grace has led a series of successful projects: “I always like to set myself targets and do my best to achieve them. I’m here for a set time, and I want the community to get the best out of me.”
Grace launched a new website for CoA Church which was her first time managing such a task.
“I don’t have a tech background or think it’s my forte at all, but I was determined to do it. I’m grateful to the team in the diocesan Transformation Support Hub for talking through different website platforms and showing me HUBB church, as their templates made it ten times easier. Once I got the green light to proceed from Adam Hadley, our lovely new website went live a month later in February. Everyone seems happy with the result.”
Grace has also been instrumental in securing over £56,000 in grant funding for vital building repairs and upgrades. These have come from a variety of funders including Enovert Community Trust, Lasletts, UK Community Grants and Diocesan Funding including the Net Zero Quick Wins Grant. Seeking out funders and working on these grants is one of Grace’s favourite parts of the role as it allows her to showcase the work being done in the Parish of Kingswinford and make valuable changes to the buildings. These include stained glass and roof repairs at both churches, new windows and bathrooms at CoA, under-pew heating at St Mary’s, and CCTV installations throughout both sites: “These buildings are community spaces” Grace emphasises. “I’m proud the changes will benefit everyone.”
Challenges have come in the form of learning church-specific terminology and navigating faculty guidelines, but Grace has met them with openness and honesty. “I just say when I don’t understand something. The diocesan Church Buildings Team has been amazing; I speak to them on a near weekly basis!”
Sustainability is central to Grace’s vision. Both churches have earned bronze Eco Church Awards and Grace already has plans and targets in place to reach silver. “We’re working toward our buildings being net zero Carbon. Future-proofing is so important. I want to ensure the changes made today will serve the community for years to come.”
Grace’s faith journey has evolved alongside her professional one. While always a Christian, she didn’t previously consider herself to be a ‘regular church goer’ with her only regular attendance being through ‘Mainly Music’, but now she has come to see that worship extends beyond traditional Sunday services. “Worship can happen anywhere, anytime,” she says. “That’s been a revelation.”
She adds: “You don’t need to go to church every Sunday to take on a role like this and in fact not being a regular part of the Sunday congregation gave me a fresh perspective on how we can rephrase church language to be more welcoming and accessible to newcomers.”
Reflecting on her journey, Grace says: “This job is perfect for me! It’s interesting, varied, and I feel so supported. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far, but even more proud of the team around me. As a renewal church, the growth we’re seeing is incredible.”
“Stepping into this role has been a real privilege, it ticks so many boxes for me and came along at exactly the right time in my life. I’m starting to believe there’s something bigger is at play here. Being able to give back to the community that has given me so much, means everything; I feel so very blessed.”
