The parish of Kingswinford in the Greater Dudley Deanery is one of our renewal projects. It has received funding from the national church as part of our priority to ensure that each major area of population has at least one larger healthy and sustainable church by 2030 - one with at least 150 people attending in an average week.
The renewal project in Kingswinford parish is led by Father Adam Hadley and the parish has two churches, St Mary’s in Kingswinford and Church of the Ascension in Wall Heath.
Why Kingswinford?
There are great opportunities for growth locally. This Renewal project focuses on the inclusive Anglo-Catholic tradition that Adam has found life giving, and which these communities already embrace.
Vision
One of the important aspects of leading a renewal is to keep the congregation involved in the journey so Adam preaches regularly about where they’re at and where they’re headed to and often offers people the chance to have their say.
Fr Adam Hadley said: “By 2030 I would hope that we are vibrant inclusive Anglo-Catholic churches, at the heart of the communities we serve.”
He added: “It’s about going out to where our communities are, not just expecting those communities to come to us. It’s important that we take the gospel out to people, in places where they already live and meet.”
Plans
Kingswinford’s mission plan recognises that some new people coming into the church may not identify with the more traditional services, so Adam is keen to have a variety ‘menu’ of services on offer, recognising that people encounter and experience God in different ways be it deeply traditional worship, charismatic expression or contemplative reflection. The bulk of numerical growth will come from forming New Worshipping Communities (NWCs) and this will result in several different congregrations developing at these churches.
Adam and his team have already established ‘Singing Angels’, Mainly Music’ and ‘Soul Food’ NWCs. Mainly Music and Soul Food take place weekly at both churches on different days.
Church of the Ascension is also part of the inclusive church network, and they are in conversation with the Open table network to see if they can create another NWC for LGBTQ+ Christians.
Team
Since August 2023 Adam has been building his team to help deliver on all this.
Adam said: “We recruited a fabulous Children, Youth and Families Minister, Sian Morgan, in the very early days, who hit the ground running and made inroads with local schools and families, laying solid foundations for growth.”
“It has also been helpful that Curate Chris Smith is from a different tradition. That’s been so useful in terms of challenge, perspective and understanding.”
Administrator Lindsey and Operations’ Manager Grace have both now settled in too. “Grace has a corporate background and has become really good at identifying grant opportunities and securing funds.” This means they can do even more for their local communities and support other churches in the area in terms of learning and resources.
Adam's newest recruit, Mission Priest Sarah Roberts-Malpass, is an important appointment in adding capacity, as Sarah is able to spend more time in the community.
Building works
There will be some limited building works involved with the renewal to replace some windows at St Mary's Kingswinford to make it warmer, and to revamp the kitchen and toilets in the church hall at Church of the Ascension to make this a fully functional space.
Find out more:
Church of the Ascension, Wall Heath website: https://www.churchoftheascensionwallheath.org.uk/
St Mary's, Kingswinford website: https://www.stmaryskingswinford.org.uk/