St George’s Church in Dane Bank has been achieving great things thanks to Transformation Programme revitalisation funding, which has enabled them to open a thriving community café. Operating out of the community centre, the café is managed by volunteers who generously give their time and skills, overseeing everything from food preparation to organising community groups and ensuring smooth operations.
Not only is this helping to bring the community together, but it is supporting church growth as customers are invited to enjoy a short, informal service of the word at St George’s after enjoying food together. Elsie, Churchwarden at St George, recalls that it was a modest start with only five people visiting the café in the first week. However, by the second week, word had spread and 15 people were welcomed through the doors. Today, the café serves around 45 people, many of whom are new to the church and have begun regularly attending the informal service after meals, with some even joining the Sunday services.
It is wonderful to see how a small grant award can support church growth and engagement with the wider community, actively bringing people into the church to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
St George's Incumbent, Fr Miles Howarth, shares his joy at the café’s success, saying:
“I am joyful that we continue to grow in reaching out to the community and have a shared vision that stems from our parish statement of `Making the Light & Love of Christ known in this Community`. It is inspiring that our volunteers have such drive and vision, recognising that what we do as a church is not all down to the vicar.
“It feels like a privilege to have such a dedicated team of people who work so hard to build links between the community and the church, which our cafe is achieving so well. Social deprivation is being reduced as some visitors have mentioned they have not been out of their homes for some time but friends have told them about the cafe and brought them along.
“We are building a small congregation for an informal act of worship, which is growing in popularity and allowing people to rekindle faith and church connections. Dogs are welcome too!”
Revitalisation & Growth Grants are grants of up to £3k per parish for ministry resources or adaptations aimed at congregational growth, with a particular emphasis on new initiatives.
If you are interested in revitalisation funding for your parish, please get in touch with Rob Chilton at robchilton@manchester.anglican.org