Diocese receives £6.8m for projects including the creation of a new church for the Eastern Swindon Villages area.

The Diocese of Bristol, which includes the Deaneries of Bristol, Chippenham, Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, North Wiltshire and Swindon, has been awarded a grant of £6.8m, spread over three years, for its Transforming Church. Together (TC.T) programme.

The grant, made by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board of the Church of England, will enhance support for parishes and provide specific funding for important social action campaigns against injustice.   

The five-year TC.T strategy was developed in consultation with a diverse group of citizens and focuses on the needs of local communities – both within and outside of the church.  

In Swindon, plans are advanced to create a new church for the Eastern Swindon Villages area. It will have its own priest, a Children’s and Young Peoples Worker and benefit from the support of an operations administrator. 

The five-year TC.T strategy was developed in consultation with a diverse group of citizens and focuses on the needs of local communities – both within and outside of the church.  

Plans are in place to create long-lasting partnerships with public, private, and third-sector organisations, to deliver on the strategy’s ambitions for the Diocese of Bristol to lead the way in acknowledging the Church of England’s troubling past, whilst putting in the work to create a future where all voices are welcomed, heard and amplified. 

“This is amazing news for the life and work of our churches, parishes, and communities of the Bristol diocese,” says Bishop of Bristol, The Rt Revd Vivienne Faull.  “The grant will strengthen our parishes and deaneries. It will create capacity, so that parishes can work together on activities to transform the communities they serve.” 

One example is the partnership with Spear Bristol launched in January 2022, which has since supported 43 young people, aged 16 – 24, empowering them back into work or education. 

Revd Paul Langham, vicar at Christ Church Clifton, said: “Launching the SPEAR Programme into Bristol has been an extraordinary privilege for us at Christ Church. The celebration evenings, at the end of each cohort of young people, are among the most inspiring events I have attended.  

“Hearing young people, none of whom believed they could ever speak in front of a room full of people, talk about the challenges they’ve faced in their young lives, and the way that the mentoring and coaching they’ve received has changed their lives – it’s just wonderful to see and hear the transformation in them.”  

In another initiative, collaborative training and support teams will work to revitalise existing parishes and plant new congregations. 

Work has already begun. Last September the new Concord church was started at the Aerospace Bristol Museum in the Brabazon area of Bristol.  

Andy Carter the Church Leader at Concord church says, “We have had so many great opportunities to serve our community. Whether it’s carols under Concorde, family fun days in the sun, English language classes for new arrivals, or even litter picking, we’ve loved finding ways to help build up our local community, while spreading the good news of Jesus.”

There will also be a pilot of administrative centres across the diocese. These will help liberate the clergy from paperwork, enabling them to concentrate on their wider communities, developing partnerships and networks.