Parishes Must Take Mission Outside Church Walls, New Research Reveals

New Research has urged parishes across the Church of England to renew their methods and thinking so that the Church can survive into the new era.

|TOP|A new report published, ‘Churchgoing Today’, has called on parishes to “think outside the box” and to advance services beyond the church walls in order to connect more effectively with modern-day Britain.

The research has been written by the Rev Lynda Barley, Head of Research and Statistics for the Archbishops’ Council. Rev Barley has urged church leaders to be more flexible, particularly in service times in order to allow themselves to be more accessible to the general public.

As the secular society continues to develop, Rev Barley told how churchgoing has these days become just one of a wide range of “leisure pursuits” available on Sundays. Therefore, she called for the Church to become more inventive in the locations and times at which they hold service, report the Church of England newspaper.

The author of the research also explained how in an increasingly consumer-driven society, several parishes have shown the way by going beyond their church walls to focus more directly on the needs of the local community.

St Peter’s Barge in Canary Wharf, London, reaches out to the business community from a boat, and Christ Church in Brighton gathers congregants at a local pub.

|AD|The report also mentioned St Mary’s, Todmorden, in West Yorkshire, which started a midweek communion service for families who could not attend on Sundays.

Rev Barley explained that Sunday would always be at the heart of Christian worship, but added: “The Church has got to be prepared to meet people rather than expecting people to come to it.

“There’s such a gulf between the church and our modern society, the Church needs to go out as the early Christians did and be available in the marketplace, going outside the church walls and away from traditional service times.

“And actually when the Church gets out there people are more receptive than we’d think.”

Rev Barley concluded, “We need to find out what our neighbourhood is like and meet people where they are,” according to the Church of England newspaper.

The research also highights the pioneering work of a church in Dunkeswell in Devon which has begun an agnostics discussion group in their local fish and chip shop.

The Churchgoing Today booklet is the second in a series entitled ‘Time to Listen’, which looks to publish research in an accessible way to resource the Church’s mission in modern society.