THE Church in Wales has announced that it’s spending £10 million on 4 projects for church growth. The funding is from a £100-million investment by the Church Growth Fund, described as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to resource confident and consistent evangelism throughout Wales”.
Its progenitor, the Evangelism Fund, has invested in several areas. Its grants include those to Hope Street, Wrexham, and Citizen Church, Cardiff, and the 140-mile Pererin pilgrim trail from Basingwerk Abbey to Bardsey Island.
The diocese of St Asaph is receiving £4.6 million to construct on the establishment of mission-hub churches, defined as centres of excellence with a deal with outreach, in Welshpool, Mold, Penrhyn Bay, and Holywell. Six further hubs will probably be arrange over the following six years, starting in Newtown, Prestatyn, and Wrexham.
A second award, of £1 million, will go into making a team of pioneer missioners in rural areas. The Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, said: “I’m excited to see the Church in Wales backing the great work we’re doing in St Asaph to renew and develop our church life. . . These initiatives underline and cement our commitment to serve the people of north-east and mid-Wales effectively.”
St Mary’s, Swansea — within the centre of Wales’s second city — will receive £2.8 million over five years in a project that designates it as the primary minster church within the Church in Wales — a standing intended to reflect its importance to the town.
The Vicar of St Mary’s, Canon Justin Davies, said that such a major investment would enable recent staff, each clergy and lay, to be employed, “increasing our ability to serve the town centre community, be they residents, staff, visitors, refugees, or the homeless”. The constructing could have recent meeting rooms and offices, secure spaces for young people, and recent worship facilities.
The fourth project is within the diocese of Monmouth, which receives greater than £1 million for strenthening relationships with schools and church growth in the shape of recent worshipping communities through a schools-engagement pioneer (SEP) in East Monmouthshire, East Cardiff, Islwyn, and Abergavenny.
The Archdeacon of Monmouth, the Ven. Ian Rees, expressed his delight on Monday. “We’ve chosen 4 areas where we have already got good relationships with schools, but where we could construct on those to achieve this far more — places where lack of capability has meant there is nearly an excessive amount of work to do to take these on to a different stage,” he said.
“They’re also places where good lay persons are already involved. We’ll be working primarily with church schools, who actually need us to be a presence and wish to develop further links with the Church. We’re expecting to work with individuals who have little or no involvement with church in the mean time, inviting them to good quality services and activities and attempting to encourage them to explore a bit more.”
The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Andrew John, described the funding as “a transformative step forward” within the Church’s mission to achieve communities across Wales. “This significant investment will enable churches to grow, innovate, and change into vibrant centres of religion,” he said.
