The Stourhead Benefice, located near Haverhill in west Suffolk, received £1500 from the Growth Fund grant to provide equipment and support for their parishes to reimagine the use of the church buildings, make their spaces more welcoming and involve their local communities with the ambition to grow younger and grow in number.
The three main areas that were focused on were Kedington Church coffee mornings, the Benefice garden party and Easter outreach.
Coffee Morning at St Peter and St Paul’s Kedington
Each Tuesday morning, between 30 and 50 people of all ages attend the coffee morning. Some just pop in briefly while others stay all morning. The team of volunteers who bake and run the event has grown. This has been a particular joy as it has taken the pressure of the core group and brought new people into the group. The coffee morning has been going strong for over three years. There is a warm atmosphere and always someone to chat with if anyone comes on their own. The funds from the grant were used to update the equipment.
Benefice Garden Party 2025
The Benefice Garden Party for 2025 was held on the grounds of Little Bradley Hall by kind permission of the Clifton Brown’s. The funds from the grant covered the cost of beer, wine and soft drinks. Canapes were kindly provided by the parishioners of the Benefice. There were over 70 attendees, adults and children, many of whom were not regular attendees at church. The party proved to be a hit with those attending, and warmly welcomed those unfamiliar with church.
Easter Children’s activities 2025
This is the third year that we have run this event. The Revd Chris Giles led the children and their accompanying adults around the Stations of the Cross in the church. This year, hot cross buns with coffee, tea and juice were provided. There was an Easter Egg Hunt in the churchyard, which both younger and older children took part in and helped each other with. On departure the children were gifted with an age-appropriate book about Easter. This is the third year the Easter event has run and each year it grows larger.
‘A’ frame St Mary’s Great Bradley
St Mary’s Great Bradley started a ‘Friends of’ group and they have much enthusiasm for reimagining the use of the church space. The church is off the main road, and the grant was used to purchase an A frame for them to advertise/direct traffic to the events in the church. An exhibition was held to familiarise people, local and non-local, with the history and architecture of the church building and to host an art exhibition. The exhibition was a great success, raising £1,500 towards the maintenance of the fabric of the building and conversationally planting the seed for repeat visits.
