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This section provides you with stories of how other churches have approached the needs and opportunities in their locality.

(a) Reaching out

i. urban communities

Churches and Civic Life Bracknell Berkshire (2003)

St Mary’s Shared Anglican URC Banbury Oxfordshire (2003)

St Mary’s Henley on Thames South Oxfordshire (2004)

St Laurence’s Reading Berkshire (2003)

Saint Mary’s Slough Buckinghamshire (2004)

The Salem Project Slough Buckinghamshire (2004)

Christian Foundation Mosaic Project Milton Keynes (2003)

Maidenhead Inter-Faith Group Berkshire (2004)

Aylesbury Indian Cultural Society Buckinghamshire (2004)

St John’s Crypt Bristol (2007)

Kenilworth Methodist Church Warwickshire (2003)

St James’ Norlands, London  

ii rural communities

St Mary’s Adderbury Oxfordshire (2003)

St Mary’s Chipping Norton Oxfordshire (2003)

Abbey Church of Ss Peter and Paul Dorchester-on-Thames South Oxfordshire (2003)

St John the Evangelist Fernham South Oxfordshire (2007)

St Peter’s Filkins West Oxfordshire (2007)

St Bartholemew’s Holton South Oxfordshire (2005)

St Peter and Paul’s Yattendon Berkshire (2005)

St Augustine’s Kirkby Cleveland (2000)

St Martha's Broxtowe Estate Nottingham (2000)

Take Art! Somerset (2007)

Village Voice - Rural touring (2007)

iii. children

Churches Together in Earley and East Reading Schools Project  Berkshire (2004)

Godly Play Holy Trinity URC Abingdon Oxfordshire (2005)

St Mary’s Shared Anglican URC Banbury Oxfordshire (2003)

Saint Mary’s Slough Buckinghamshire (2004)

All Saint's Coleshill Wiltshire (2004)

iv. young people

St Laurence’s Reading Berkshire (2003)

Downland Youth Network Berkshire (2004)

Faringdon Youth Work Project  Oxfordshire (2003)

Churches Together in Earley and East Reading Schools Project  Berkshire (2004)

Saint Mary’s Slough Buckinghamshire (2004)

High Street Methodist Church Witney Oxfordshire (2004)

v. young families

High Street Methodist Church Witney Oxfordshire (2004)

St Martha's Church Broxtowe Estate Nottingham (2000)

vi. the sick and those in need

St Martha's Church Broxtowe Estate Nottingham (2000)

vii. the elderly and isolated

St Bartholemew’s Holton South Oxfordshire (2005)

Lower Windrush Benefice West Oxfordshire (2005)

viii.     through community action

St John the Evangelist Fernham South Oxfordshire (2007)

St Peter’s Filkins West Oxfordshire (2007)

Holy Trinity Finstock Oxfordshire (2005)

High Street Methodist Church Witney Oxfordshire (2004)

St Peter and Paul’s Yattendon Berkshire (2005)

ix.      through cultural activities

St Mary’s Adderbury Oxfordshire (2003)

St Mary’s Slough Buckinghamshire (2004)

St Mary’s Chipping Norton Oxfordshire (2003)

Abbey Church of Ss Peter and Paul Dorchester-on-Thames South Oxfordshire (2003)

High Street Methodist Church Witney Oxfordshire (2004)

St Mary’s Henley on Thames South Oxfordshire (2004)

St John’s Crypt Bristol (2007)

Kenilworth Methodist Church Warwickshire (2003)

The Salem Project Slough Buckinghamshire (2004)

Take Art! Somerset (2007)

Village Voice - Rural touring (2007)

x.     through tourism and education

St Mary’s Adderbury Oxfordshire (2003)

St Mary’s Shared Anglican URC Banbury Oxfordshire (2003)

Abbey Church of Ss Peter and Paul Dorchester-on-Thames South Oxfordshire (2003)

St Mary’s Slough Buckinghamshire (2004)

Churches Together in Earley and East Reading         Schools Project  Berkshire (2004)

Aylesbury Indian Cultural Society Buckinghamshire (2004)

 (b) Caring for and using your buildings

i. Reordering your church building

St Laurence’s Reading Berkshire (2003)

St Helen's Abingdon Berkshire (2005)

Holy Trinity Finstock Oxfordshire (2005)

St Mary’s Cogges West Oxfordshire (2007)

St Peter’s Loudwater Buckinghamshire (2007)

Kenilworth Methodist Church Warwickshire (2003)

Reordering as a community amenity

St Thomas of Canterbury’s Elsfield  Oxfordshire (2006)
With no village hall in this tiny village the PCC developed the west end of their nave as a village hall.

Holy Trinity Finstock Oxfordshire (2005)

The DEFRA website offers the following egs of church communities that have reordered their church building in this way:

All Saints’ Sheepy Magna Leicestershire (2003)
The PCC redeveloped the church vestry as a post office and shop after the village post office was closed.

St Mark’s Bedford (2006)

St John the Evangelist’s Moggerhanger Bedfordshire

St Peter and St Paul’s Stoke Lacy and Moreton Jeffries Herefordshire

Holy Trinity, Much Wenlock Herefordshire

St John the Baptist’ Whitbourne Worcestershire

St Giles’ Shipbourne Kent

St Mary & St Rhadegund’s Whitwell Isle of Wight (2007)

St Thomas’ Stanley Crook Durham (2001)

Brough St Michael near Kirkby Stephen Penrith Cumbria (2001)

All Saints Hawsker cum Stainsacre Yorkshire (2001)

St Oswald’s Farnham North Yorkshire

The Millennium Commission helped to fund several similar projects:

St Thomas’ Stanley Crook Durham (2001)

St John’s Delabole Cornwall (2001)

St Martha's Church Broxtowe Estate Nottingham (2001)

ii. Restoring your church or hall building

St Mary’s Adderbury Oxfordshire (2003)

Abbey Church of Ss Peter and Paul Dorchester-on-Thames South Oxfordshire (2003)

St Mary’s Shared Anglican URC Banbury Oxfordshire (2003)

St Mary’s Chalgrove Oxfordshire (2007)

St Mary the Virgin’ Childrey Oxfordshire (2006)

St Mary’s Garsington Oxfordshire (2006)

Islip and Woodeaton churches Oxfordshire (2005)

St Mary’s Kidlington Oxfordshire (2006)

St Mary’s Kidlington Oxfordshire (2007)

The Most Holy Trinity Church Theale Berkshire (2006)

St Mary’s Clifton Reynes Buckinghamshire / All Saints’ Boyne Hill Berkshire (2007)

St Mary’s Winkfield Berkshire (2007)

iii. (Re)building your church or hall

Churches

Britwell St George Buckinghamshire (2006)

St Peter’s Cranbourne Berkshire

Church halls                      

St Andrew’s Caversham Berkshire (2006)

St Andrew’s Cumnor Oxfordshire (2007)

St Barnabas’ Linslade Bedfordshire (2007)
A project (in progress) to bring their Victorian church hall into the 21st century to serve the whole community and connect it physically to the church.

St George’s Wash Common Newbury Berkshire (2001)
A “How we did it” report on rebuilding their church hall and reordering their church interior the PCC to meet the needs of the wider community.

St Augustine’s Church Kirkby Cleveland (2000)

Creating a sustainable presence

St Peter’s Caversham Berkshire (2007)

St Mary’s Chalgrove Oxfordshire (2007)

St John’s Kenilworth Warwickshire (2007)

Trinity Church Audenshaw Manchester (2007)

(c) Caring for your churchyard

i.       Creating a quiet place

St Mary’s Chalgrove Oxfordshire (2007)

ii.       Environmental discovery

St Mary Magdalene’s Tingewick Buckinghamshire (2007)

All Saints’ Wokingham Berkshire (2007)

St Margaret’s Lewknor Oxfordshire (2007)

St Aldate’s Gloucester (2007)

iii.      Local and family history

All Saint's Coleshill Wiltshire (2004)

St Mary & St John’s Cowley Road East Oxford (2005)