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Achieving New Growth Case study of St Laurence’s Church, Middleton written up by the staff of the (Resource) Strategy and Development Unity in discussion with the Revd Paul Neville, Rector of the Parish of Middleton St George (diocese of Durham)
Introduction This case study explores how moving from its church building to worship in a school has brought new life and growth to the congregation of St Laurence’s church, Middleton, in the diocese of Durham.
Background
The 19th century church of Middleton St Laurence is situated in an old village surrounded by new housing developments which have grown up over the last 20 years. The church building had suffered from structural problems for many years, some of which had begun to manifest themselves shortly after the church was built in 1874. When Paul Neville became rector in 2003, a detailed assessment of the state of the building revealed the need for specialist and costly repair and building work. The church launched a restoration appeal but, over 5 years, the appeal failed to raise the full amount that was needed. Most of what was raised was donated by members of the congregation, suggesting that there was little tangible support from the wider community. With each passing year the condition of the building deteriorated further and the repair costs rose. But, at the same time, the congregation was experiencing gentle growth and, for the first time in some years, several children were attending. Paul and the PCC were fully committed not only to restoring the church building but also to developing it to help build on that growth. Fundraising efforts continued but the situation was taken out of the congregation’s hands when a piece of masonry fell to the ground and, separately, part of the ceiling fell in. The church reported both incidents to the diocese and to its insurers. The health and safety concerns were so great that, on Friday 28 September 2008, the insurers withdrew their cover and the building was temporarily closed. In those circumstances, the congregation had no option but to find somewhere else to worship.
Moving to the School
Paul Neville’s assumption had always been, should such a situation arise, that the congregation of St Laurence would move in with the congregation of St Andrew’s church, Sadberge of which he is also the rector. However, from the beginning of his ministry at St Laurence’s, he had built up strong and close links with the local Church of England Academy. The head teacher’s immediate response to the congregation’s predicament was to offer the school hall for Sunday worship. 1 June 2013
The congregation moved what it could out of the church building over the weekend immediately following the withdrawal of insurance cover and, on the Sunday morning, it met for the first time to worship in the school. Paul says that it was then that the full implications of the state which the church building had fallen into began to sink in. That first Sunday he preached on St Paul’s teaching about the Body of Christ, sensing that the congregation was about to discover what this really meant.
Reaching out to the unchurched
From the outset of the move to the school, younger people in the village and their parents began, in Paul’s words, to ‘flock to the church’. Most of the new congregation members comprised pupils at the school and their parents. The vast majority had no previous experience of church in a traditional setting. Paul believes that the move to the school was key to their decision to attend. The school is warmer and more comfortable than the old church building. There is accommodation for a crèche, there are baby changing facilities and a kitchen – in short, everything that a modern church building would provide. But, perhaps even more importantly, the school is a familiar and non-threatening environment for new attendees. Nevertheless, Paul says that the fact that people who had not been willing to enter a church building were comfortable with worshipping in a school came as ‘a remarkable surprise’.
A new start
With the move to the school came the realization of the extent to which the church building had absorbed the congregation’s time and resources. Paul says now that, if the congregation could have all that time and resources over again, it would choose to devote them to growing the church, rather than to trying to save its building. Leaving the church building enabled the congregation to focus its energy and its resources on people and ministry. One of Paul’s first steps on moving to the school was to put in place a ministry development team comprising lay members of the congregation and led by Paul. The team is responsible for furthering the ministry and mission of the church and its vision for the church. It leads the church’s mission, children’s and youth work, pastoral care and administration. 2 June 2013
The ministry development team’s mantra is to ‘do two or three things and do them well’, rather than trying to take on too much at once. The team decided to focus at the outset on children’s church, family mission and baptisms. Baptisms take place on the first Sunday of each month during the family service so that everyone in the congregation is included in welcoming a new member of the church and the team places particular emphasis on doing baptism preparation well. There is a Children’s Church, a group for young teenagers and a Boys’ Brigade. The church also runs Explorers sessions for children in Key Stages 1 and 2 during the school holidays. Paul says that the creation of the ministry development team has unleashed lay skills and some people have found their vocations as a result.
Worship
In response to the fact that many previously unchurched people are now members of the congregation, the church has revised its liturgy and its patterns of worship. It has stopped making assumptions about what people understand, for example about the Eucharist. The church’s approach is encapsulated in its description of its All Age Celebration as ‘worship made new each month with seasonal themes and opportunities for everyone to participate in the way that makes them most comfortable – nothing is mandatory; everything is acceptable.’ Paul also leads collective worship in the school every Thursday and a family service every half term.
Invitation
Paul and his team place a strong emphasis on invitation. They invite people to church on the anniversaries of their baptism. They ensure that people in the community know what they are doing, they put leaflets through doors and give out invitations to services and events. Parents and grandparents are invited to the half-termly family services in school.
Growth
The congregation has continued to grow steadily since its move to the school with an average weekly attendance of 100 adults, 25 children and 12 young people. Before moving to the school, the average weekly attendance was 50 adults and 8 children with no young people.
3 June 2013
Older members of the congregation have been very supportive of the move to the school and of the changes to the church’s worship and liturgy. One or two have moved to attend St Andrew’s church Sadberge in order to worship in a more traditional way. Paul says that their moves have not been born out of any bitterness or opposition to the changes that have taken place in the congregation but are simply a recognition on the part of the people concerned that their needs now differ from those of the majority of the congregation.
Finance
For the first time in many years, the church is paying its way and is able to spend its resources on mission, instead of diverting most of them into its building. The school does not charge the church for using its facilities. However, the church gives payment in kind as a way of saying thank you. It has installed new IT equipment which the school can use, such as a projector, screen and a sound system. The church pays for the Christmas trees in school, buys Bibles for school leavers, and provides Palm crosses and Easter Eggs. Congregation members carry out minor repairs and maintenance work in the school and help with the school gardening. In 2011 members of the church community repainted the main areas of the school and hall during the summer holidays.
The congregation is also fortunate that, within the parish boundaries, the medieval church of St George has recently been restored funded by a legacy and is available for use for weddings and funerals and for festival services, complementing the congregation’s worship at the school.
Looking to the Future
If the congregation were to wish for one thing for the future, it would be for a building in the village which could be used as a drop-in centre, for daily prayer and as a meeting room and office (currently Paul’s house is used as an office in order to manage what is now a busy church). Paul’s vision is that the congregation will continue to be based at the school and to worship there. He believes that the church and the school would have ‘too much to lose’ by moving back to a traditional church building.
4 June 2013
Conclusion
In summary, the move to the school has enabled St Laurence’s church to build on the growth which it had begun to experience when it was located in the church building but in ways and to an extent that the congregation could not have imagined prior to its move. In Paul’s words ‘the true church has emerged from the mess of the crumbling stones of the old church building. The church is, paradoxically, flourishing’.
Further information
For further information, please contact the Revd Paul Neville at
[email protected]
Readers may like to revisit the following paper published in the Resourcing Mission Bulletin: Closing Church Buildings Creatively (diocese of Liverpool) http://www.churchgrowthrd.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Resourcing_Mission_Bulletin/April_2012 /closing_church_buildings_creatively_Liverpool_diocese_April_2012.pdf
5 June 2013
