Former Corporate HR Manager, Grace Wigglesworth, has been Operations Manager for Kingswinford parish for just over a year and her work is already making a difference to the whole Kingswinford community about which she is so passionate.
It has been just over a year since Fraser Oates was installed as the Renewal Church Leader at St Stephen’s Church in Redditch. The church has received funding as part of our renewal programme and the team are already seeing new people encountering God and growing in faith.
Former CE primary school teacher Louise Hicklin recently started as Children and Families’ Worker at St John the Baptist Church in Halesowen. Thanks to this appointment and the installation of new toilets, St John’s Church have been able to launch their first Messy Church.
At All Saints church in Sedgley on Sunday 21st September, Giles Joiner was installed as Team Vicar in the benefice of Gornal and Sedgley by Bishop Anne Hollinghurst. It was a joyful service, designed to offer a warm welcome to Giles and his family.
Each September, the churches in the Halas Team in Halesowen come together for ‘HalasFest’, a joint service which celebrates the whole team and all they are doing in their communities. This year they were joined by Bishop Martin who was able to dedicate a set of new toilets which have recently been built inside the church.
Our Diocesan Stewardship team are running training courses this autumn for PCCs and churches on how to run a legacy campaign. While it can feel a tricky subject to broach it is vitally important when legacies can make such a difference to churches and the communities they serve.
St John’s Church stepped in to host the Halesowen Uniform Exchange during the school holidays, after the usual venue had become unavailable at short notice.
On the morning of Thursday 21 August St Johns church in Halesowen hosted a special session of what has come to be known as 'Donut Club' to support local year 11s who were collecting their GSCE results.
During the first week of August, Kingswinford parish hosted an exciting iSingPOP holiday club at St Mary’s Church featuring iSingPops catchy worship tunes and dance moves. The club proved hugely popular, with attendance peaking at 53 children.
Since launching as a renewal church, the congregation at St Stephen’s Church in Redditch has already doubled in size and some of the funding they have received from the national church is being used to build a core team which will help support continued growth.
Sue Harding is a baptism rep at St John’s Church in Halesowen, one of our renewal projects. She recently accompanied Team Rector, Hazel Charlton on a baptism visit to a family who had recently arrived from Iran and has supported the Mum in her request to be baptised at the church.
Back in May, St John’s church in Halesowen which is one of our Renewal projects, launched a post GCSE exam chill-out space for year 11s nicknamed 'Donut Club' which was really popular. They're now building on that success by offering a Bibles and Brunch session to the same group.
As we continue on our seven-year journey of transformation to ensure our churches are growing healthier and more sustainable, real progress is being made in our Transformation programme priority areas. Churches across the Diocese are starting to see the green shoots of growth.
Tim Hancock’s latest career move has made him feel like his life has gone full circle. Moving to work for Holy Trinity Old Hill, the church he was raised attending and where his father once served as vicar, has taken him out of the fast-paced world of AV corporate sales...
At All Saints Church in Sedgley on Sunday, Diane Cooksey was installed as Team Rector of Gornal and Sedgley and Renewal Leader at All Saints.
St John’s church in Halesowen is looking at ways they can build stronger links with and better serve their local community. This week they have launched a post exam calm space for year 11s about to embark on their GCSEs.
Last month St Peter’s in Bengeworth opened a Community Café inside the church called ‘The Point’. The café opens every Tuesday morning and aims to be a welcoming space for those who might not have been in the church before.
A learning community has been launched for Renewal and Resourcing Church leaders to support each other as they journey together on their missions to revitalise existing churches and grow the Kingdom.
Today, on Ash Wednesday, following a service to mark the start of Lent and the giving of Ashes at Church of the Ascension in Wall Heath, Mission Priest Sarah Roberts-Malpass and Curate Chris Smith, visited the nearby high street to offer ‘Ashes to go’ to passersby.
Sarah Roberts-Malpass has been licensed as the Anglo-Catholic Mission Priest for Kingswinford and Wall Heath, one of our renewal parishes. Her role is funded by the national church and will be very outward focussed, taking the church into the local community.
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18th October 2025