Rural communities around Peterborough were backed by the Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Donald Allister (left), at the weekend.

“Village life is different to urban life, but people who live in urban areas think that village people are odd,” he told an audience at the Christian Resources Exhibition at the East of England Showground on Saturday.

“There is a huge sense of place and the importance of buildings in villages,” he added. “Much more so than there is in towns and cities. And a higher proportion of people go to church in rural areas than in urban ones,” he claimed.

Speaking on the subject of “Growing churches in the countryside” he drew on his previous experience in the Chester Diocese and suggested that small churches in rural areas stood a good chance of growing numerically under certain conditions.

Key to growth are clergy who are “embedded” in their community and prepared to embark on “cross-cultural mission” by immersing themselves in local life. “Village ministry is like old fashioned church ministry,” he said. “People want a parson who knows them, cares for them, knocks on their door, walks around, and attends the village fair or May Day celebration.”

Even though many rural clergy have several villages to look after, “so long as they are embedded in the community where they live, people will understand and accept them in the others,” he said. He also repeated his pledge that despite a national shortage of clergy, and especially a shortage of clergy with rural experience, he would do all he could to find suitable priests for any parish willing to pay for them.

Turning to patterns of church worship, Bishop Donald suggested that the common habit of having Holy Communion (the Eucharist) as the main Sunday service was generally not conducive to rural church growth.

“Ninety per cent of the people who attend church during the year in rural areas are ‘fringe’ members rather than ‘core’ members,” he claimed. “There may only be a dozen people at a weekly Eucharist but the church will be packed for harvest. Holy Communion every week alienates the fringe.

“In addition, clergy become ‘mass priests’ touring churches to take communion services, and therefore never meet many other people.”

Bishop Donald encouraged lay people to take over the day to day running of local churches, and to get involved with taking simple non-Eucharistic services. He told of the bitter experience in his former diocese where the local priest refused to allow willing but untrained lay people to keep an evening service going with hymns, prayers, and readings. As the archdeacon at the time Bishop Donald was in favour of allowing the initiative. “And now there’s nothing left,” he said.

Follow this link to read a transcript of Bishop Donald's address.

Further information from Derek Williams, Diocesan Media Adviser, on 01858 432709 / 07770 981172.

28 February 2011

(Revd) Derek Williams, Media Adviser
Diocesan Office, The Palace, Peterborough PE1 1YB
01858 432709 / 07770 981172
derek.williams@peterborough-diocese.org.uk