New figures released by the Church of England for 2005 show a mixed picture for trends in church attendance with smaller Sunday congregations, but more children and young people taking part in parish worship.

|PIC1|The report showed that regular Sunday attendance fell by two per cent, while weekly and monthly attendance fell by one per cent or less. The latest figures follow two years in which the numbers have increased or held steady.

Hopeful news emerged from the figures, however, as Christmas Eve/Christmas Day attendance increased by six per cent, with the number of children and young people attending at least monthly increased by one per cent and more than half the parishes reported running or planning a 'fresh expression of church'.

More children and young people are experiencing parish worship. The latest annual statistics show 441,000 under-16s attending services at some time in the month. The number has increased each year since accurate weekly records were first systematically collated in 2001, adding up to a six percent increase on the 416,000 counted that year, the Church of England has explained.

Meanwhile, 39 per cent of parishes reported starting a 'fresh expression of church' since 2000, 33 per cent starting projects aimed at occasional and non-churchgoers and six per cent starting other fresh expressions.

A further 12 per cent of parishes said they were planning one within the next two years. Almost half of those who are already supporting one fresh expression are planning another.

A fresh expression of church is a genuinely new departure for a parish, not simply an additional activity or a stepping-stone to Sunday services, the Church of England has said. More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of the fresh expressions already started involve under-16s, a third (33 per cent) involve 16-25 year-olds and 89 per cent involve adults.

The new statistics confirm that around 1.7 million people attend Church of England church and cathedral worship each month, while around 1.2 million attend services each week - on Sunday or during the week - and just under one million each Sunday.

A Church of England release of the figures shows:
• Average Sunday attendance fell by two per cent to 988,000. (2004: 1,010,000; 2003: 1,017,000).
• Average weekly attendance fell by one per cent to 1,169,000, following no change last year. (2004: 1,186,000; 2003: 1,187,000).
• Average monthly attendance fell by one per cent to 1,694,000, following no change last year. (2004: 1,707,000; 2003: 1,704,000).
• The average number of children and young people at services weekly fell by one per cent to 231,000, reversing some of the two per cent rise last year. (2004: 235,000; 2003: 230,000). The number attending monthly increased by one per cent to 441,000, continuing the recent trend.

The Rev Lynda Barley, Head of Research and Statistics for the Archbishops' Council, said: "These latest figures confirm that, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, patterns of churchgoing and church affiliation in England are changing. Although weekly Sunday attendance has dropped, the numbers of children and young people experiencing parish worship has risen, as have the numbers of people worshipping at Christmas. And a third of parishes have begun fresh expressions of church for occasional and non-churchgoers, many of which do not get counted in attendance statistics.

"The figures also show that attendance at church services outside Sundays continues to add a significant number to local congregations. For every 50 people attending church on a typical Sunday, another nine attend during the week and an extra 35 in total over a month. Churches are responding well to the changing lifestyles of their congregations.

"There are signs in several areas of the country of more sustained growth beyond special occasions. More than a third of dioceses saw an increase in their total church attendance levels over 2005, from Truro to Durham, Manchester to Canterbury: approaching half have seen increases in total attendance over the three years to 2005. This is encouraging news for local churches as they seek to meet the increasingly evident spiritual needs of their neighbourhoods."