BuildingBridges

The BBH Wales Development Group recently met to listen to the story of the Welsh Church, Holywell, Flintshire.

Members of the group listened with fascination how this small congregation of two merged churches - Welsh Presbyterians and Methodists - have a fresh vision for the future. Inspite of being small in number and an older age profile of congregation, the group listened to the following initiatives which Welsh Church, Holywell is at the heart of:

* Credit Union Shop in the precinct of Holywell
* A cross-church (ecumenical) Sunday school
* A fairtrade forum for Flintshire
* Plans to redevelop a redundant chapel as a major Community resource
* Involvement with the Welsh medium primary school
* Develop bi-lingual worship services
* A 'community ministry' offered collaboratively by the Methodist minister and Welsh Presbyterian minister

A remarkable story of a church grappling with rapid social change, membership decline, questions of identity about language, faith and yet willing to dream a fresh vision for the future, which they know may well mean seeing valued traditions and customs pass, in order to evolve for a new future as a Welsh Christian community.

Nia Higginbotham, the BBH accompanier to Welsh Church, commented "more than ever do denomination resources need to be released where the energy is on the ground (local mission)".

Welsh Church, Holywell illustrates the challenge to change to innovate and be engaged socially so that Christian faith engages with life issues. Although Christian communities gain their identity around buildings, more than ever do we need to recover the biblical imperative that we are an ecclesia, God's people. Finally, that structures and patterns of denominational life increasingly need to focus on releasing and empowering the local church for mission - and investing where there is vision and energy.

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