Minister tells meeting church must be used as a church to survive
A minister has warned the future of a church depends on people wanting to attend it – as a church.
The Reverend Shalome MacNeill Cooper, minister at Greenfields Methodist Church, spoke at a public meeting on the future of the building, in Greenfields, Shrewsbury.
She explained that the building was well used, but not for purposes rooted in the church, and said that if the situation continues, its owners – the national Methodist Church, could look to sell the building.
Currently the church is an active community venue, hosting Greenfields Pre-School, which has been running since 1972, and currently looks after around 30 children.
Addressing the meeting, which was attend by 13 people, Rev MacNeill Cooper said they wanted to come up with ways to engage people in the church, and to attend the building as a church.
She said: "This building is very well used and appreciated and we recognise it is a centre-point for many in the area, particularly the pre-school.
"Should we choose to close the building we know this will be upsetting to many and it will be upsetting to ourselves as well.
"However, this building is now becoming used for things, more than being used as a church."
She added: "If the church is not needed the church could move elsewhere and the building could be divested, because it is needed."
Ms MacNeill Cooper said that over the next year they would try several initiatives to in an effort to boost attendance – including pet blessing sessions, workshops creating artwork from readings, and body prayer – similar to yoga.
She added that they had tried hosting a number of events in the hope it led to engagement with the church, but that the approach had not proved successful.
She said: "I think we have tried that and it has benefited the building but we do not see the fruit of that as a church."
Bagley Councillor Alex Phillips spoke at the meeting, and suggested hosting activities that support the basis of Christian belief without being explicitly religious, describing them as 'small 'm' mission work'.
He said: "It could be a food bank helping, you can be an atheist and care about that, you can be a Muslim and care about that, and it brings in your community and that is very much Christian mission work, but it does not have to be Christian."
Others attending spoke of the need to raise the profile of the church and make sure people know about events taking place.
Ms MacNeill Cooper called for ideas about how to attract people, saying: "People want funerals in church even if they do not come to church, people want weddings in church even if they do not come to church, people want baptisms in church event if they do not come to church.
"They are not coming back because we are not feeding people what they are hungry for."
She concluded by saying: "Let's try this until, let's say next July, then come back and see where we are."
