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Thousands accept invite back to church - as bishops do some underground research into churchgoing

22 September 2008

More than 30,000 ‘VIPs’ are set to grace the ‘red carpet’ leading to 3,000 local churches this Sunday (28th September) following a mass co-ordinated effort led by the Church of England to encourage churches to offer an extra-special welcome to newcomers and ‘returners’.

This week, bishops across the country will be extending a special invitation to people who used to go to church – but have stopped for whatever reason – to come back this Sunday, Back to Church Sunday. Their efforts will be supported by thousands of churchgoers doing the same, asking back friends and neighbours to rediscover their local church community with a ‘VIP’ invitation card.

Thirty eight Church of England dioceses from Cornwall to Newcastle will join in the initiative – now in its fourth year – totalling around 3,000 participating churches. In addition, Churches Together in Scotland, the Church in Wales, Baptist, Methodist, United Reformed and Elim Pentecostal churches, and Anglican churches in New Zealand and Canada are also taking part.

The simple idea of extending a personal invite back to church on a particular Sunday began in the Diocese of Manchester in 2004 and has been growing steadily ever since. Organisers predict that this year’s event could see 30,000 people return to church this Sunday in the Church of England alone, based on an average figure of ten people returning to each church that has previously taken part in the event. The concept builds on research that recently revealed three million people (six per cent of the adult population) would come back to church if they received a personal invitation.

Church of England attendance figures have been relatively stable since 2000, with weekly and monthly attendance falling by one per cent or less between 2004 and 2005. This followed two years in which the numbers increased or held steady. The latest figures suggest 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.

As thousands of churches across the country – and the world – prepare for the special day:

  • In Nottinghamshire, a bishop will be going underground to give a special welcome ‘Back to Church’ to miners in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. Last year the Bishop of Sherwood, the Rt Revd Tony Porter, took to the skies in a plane to help promote the message of Back to Church Sunday, but he now aims to dig deeper with a visit down Welbeck Colliery tomorrow (Tuesday 23rd September) to meet with colliery workers and give out invitations to miners coming off their shifts. Bishop Tony said: “I’m looking forward to having a taster of what it is like to work below the surface. The coal mines are an important part of our heritage and many of our communities were established around the local pit. I’m really pleased Welbeck Colliery and UK COAL have allowed us to hand out invites for Back to Church Sunday. Our message this year is that everyone is a VIP and important to God – we are trying to extend our invitations as widely as possible.”

  • In Cowplain, near Waterlooville in Hampshire last week, a red carpet was rolled from the door of the village church to help spread the word that new faces in church should be treated as VIPs. The Revd Paul Moore, vicar of St Wilfrid’s church, Cowplain, commented: “It’s so easy for people who don’t normally come to imagine that they’ll be unwelcome intruders if they walk into a church service,” he said. “In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. We will aim to make them feel really at home. Sometimes people lose touch with church because of family commitments or personal circumstances and then feel it would be hypocritical of them to come back again. Our job is to persuade them that they are actually very welcome.”

  • Meanwhile in the North West, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester, has invited five lucky invitees to a red carpet Champagne reception at Chester Cathedral, taking place this Thursday (25th September). At the curtain-raising event, the guests will meet and chat with Bishop Peter then, after drinks, be given a tour of the Cathedral and refreshments in the Cathedral Refectory. The Diocese of Chester’s Back to Church Sunday guests – drawn from more than 1,000 people invited back to church across the diocese – include Lorraine Taylor, the former Town Centre Manager of Ellesmere Port. She has been invited by the Team Rector of Ellesmere Port, the Revd Gordon McGuinness, who worked with her in the recent past on urban renewal projects in the town. Mr McGuinness said: “Inviting people back to church is often inviting them to surroundings they are unfamiliar with. For some people, going inside the church after a gap of many years will be like entering a betting shop - unfamiliar and perhaps uncomfortable, and so we have to make them feel as comfortable as we possibly can.”

  • And on Thursday (25th September) in South Yorkshire, the Bishop of Doncaster, the Rt Revd Cyril Ashton, will don his leathers, take to his motorbike and join six other bikers in riding out to four areas of the Diocese of Sheffield to pray and promote Back to Church Sunday. At each venue, representatives of those churches taking part in the vicinity will gather for a short service of prayer and dedication. “This is a great way to launch Back to Church Sunday,” said Canon John Thomson. He added: “The Bishop’s biker prayer visit will certainly help to energise those taking part. Back to Church Sunday is something any congregation can take part in. It’s simply about welcoming people back to church.”

  • Over in West Yorkshire, the Dewsbury team of parishes has taken over a shop front in the heart of the town centre, providing an ideal base for handing out Back to Church invitations to local shoppers. Church volunteers from Dewsbury Minster staffing the marketplace outpost have been busy promoting Back to Church Sunday over the last fortnight, and are looking forward to continuing their conversations with passers-by this week.

  • Last week, in the West Midlands, the Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart, picked up a clipboard and conducted market research to discover what people really think about church. It is hoped some of the interviews will be used in a training DVD to help Christians understand some of the ways in which church is perceived. Bishop David said: “Each year millions of people come to church for a wedding, baptism or funeral or come into contact with the church community through a community project, school or mission event. I want to find out how people in this area perceive the church and what we can do to help people rebuild or strengthen their connection with their parish church. People sometimes think that the church is like a club that exists for its members but Back to Church Sunday is a good reminder to us all that the church exists to fill its neighbourhood with the love of God for all people demonstrated by the life and death of Jesus Christ.”

Research by the Diocese of Lichfield after last year’s Back to Church Sunday suggested that 6,000 people came back to church on that day and that, six months later, between 700 and 900 (12-15 per cent) had become regular members. About a further 3,000 are still in touch with their inviting churches and may have come at Christmas or to a social event.

The Archdeacon of Walsall, the Ven Bob Jackson, comments: “People invite their friends on Back to Church Sunday with no strings attached. We know many people will gladly respond to this. What we’ve proved is that up to 15 per cent like it so much they want to come back for good. No wonder Back to Church Sunday has been such an encouragement. This year we want to work hard on improving our welcome even more.”

Fairtrade Factor

Back to Church Sunday is fairly traded too, thanks to sponsorship from Traidcraft who provide resources for churches to advertise their invitation and welcome. Participating churches buy a Back to Church pack, with invitations, posters, prayer cards, balloons, and ‘welcome’ T-shirts made of organic fairly traded cotton. Participating dioceses and denominations are additionally supported with multimedia training resources and ‘top tips’ style factsheets to use in ‘welcome workshops’ over the summer.

And Back to Church Sunday’s global reach looks set to continue, with some of Traidcraft’s Indian suppliers hoping to extend the franchise to their own church.

Fairtrade Alliance Kerala coffee farmers – who supply Traidcraft with coffee for its Medium-Roast brand – have been so impressed with the campaign they are considering an Indian-run project along the same lines as Back to Church Sunday.

Coffee farmer Devasia ‘Baby’ Tharayil has been farming in the Kerala region of India for 40 years and hopes, through Traidcraft, that churches will use fairtrade coffee at Back to Church Sunday events. “I feel a fair return to the producer is a Christian value,” he said. ‘Baby’ and his son Adeep (picture available) hope to introduce a Back to Church Sunday initiative at St Thomas RC Church in Kerala, where they are members.

For more information, visit the website www.backtochurch.co.uk.