Parish Feedback
Word Clouds
These are a snapshot of where the churches are now, based on asking everyone for 3 words that describe church to them.
The Parish
St Paul’s
Woosehill
St Nicholas
These word clouds, compiled from the three words that describe Church to members of the congregations, show things that are currently important to them, particularly emphasizing the friendly and welcoming ethos of the churches.
Other feedback (below) gives a better understanding of what enjoy and what we would like to improve.
Questionnaire
We also asked everyone to answer some questions about what attracted them to the church, what they enjoy and what could be improved.
Feeling welcome featured strongly in the reasons for being attracted to the churches across the Parish, as well as the sense of community, the family friendly feel and inclusiveness (Some came to St Paul’s after finding it on the Inclusive Church website). Other reasons included the styles of worship and the caring attitude. Reasons for enjoying the church and staying included the friendliness, the singing, the support provided, the sermons and teaching, the ongoing inclusiveness at many levels, and the involvement with the local community.
When asked about improvements, areas identified across the Parish included the need to attract younger members including children, youth and young adults. A significant common theme is the need to re-focus on our mission to the community. The drive that existed following Partnership in Missional Church (PMC) , which was enthusiastically embraced by all three churches, faltered during Covid and although some of that has been rebuilt, there is a real desire to revive the enthusiasm that existed then and to make a real impact on our local community. Music is important in all three churches; singing features in the majority of services, but the desire for new hymns and songs was also expressed, to varying degrees across all of the congregations.
Some areas highlighted were of particular importance for specific churches.
At St Paul’s the building, music and choir all featured significantly in the attraction and ongoing enjoyment of the services, where the Catholic tradition of the main services was also a very important feature. The tranquillity of the church and the fact that it is open and available every day was also considered as important. People enjoyed the regularity of the services and the recognition of the seasonal cycle.
At Woosehill and at St Nicholas the smaller size of the congregation was mentioned as a reason for a closer-knit community and more relaxed feel. Both described their services as unfussy and informal. Both also felt that there is a need to improve the visibility of the two churches within the Parish.
Woosehill are conscious of their status as an LEP and mentioned the ties with the Methodist Church as a key element of their identity and a driving force in their style of worship. They identified a real need to have live music on a more permanent basis and talked about reviving their music group to provide that. Concern was expressed about the effect of the alternating ministry between the Anglicans and Methodists on consistency and involvement in non-service activities.
There was a general feeling that St Nicholas see themselves as providing an alternative to the high-church style of worship at St Paul’s, but also as an integral part of the Parish. Their lack of permanent facilities can sometimes be a problem, but it also has a number of positive aspects; particular mention was made of the way the congregation come together on Sunday to ‘re-build’ the church in the hall in time for their service.
Quotes
From the Parish
The new Rector will be the luckiest Priest in the CofE
Fr Richard – outgoing Rector of St Paul’s
Over the last few years, I have met many people in the local community who have suffered life traumas and have told me of the care and support they have received from both clergy and members of the congregation in the St. Paul’s Benefice. This has also been my own personal experience following multiple bereavements within a short space of time.
Jo
Worship is taken seriously and carried out to the highest standard
It provides me with an anchor point. Especially when my faith is waning.
Colin
After despairing for many years over the the attitude of several churches to gay men I have at last found peace. I have never felt so welcome and part of a congregation as I do at St. Pauls. It has become a special place to me where I can worship and make new friends. The inclusivity of St. Paul’s is to be admired and valued and long may it continue.
Ian
The new incumbent will inherit a congregation and choir well-formed and confident in the spirituality of the modern catholic tradition and committed to both offering the best to God in liturgy and reaching out to the wider community in mission. The choral tradition is one of the principal “charisms” of the church and a central tool of mission, in that it attracts children, families and the un-churched across all age-groups into its life and ministry.
Rev’d Canon Bruce Ruddock
[It is] important to me that St Paul’s is part of the Inclusive church movement. This was a primary reason for us coming to join St Paul’s. It is fundamental in my opinion that we welcome people to worship and participate fully in our parish life regardless of their sexuality or marital status
Penny
Having grown up in a very bland, uninspiring Catholic Church, I had not been to church for several years when God called me to return. Within the very short time of me regularly attending St Paul’s ( about 3 months!), God has been so incredibly alive and vibrant within my life, something which I never thought I would experience and has immensely impacted my life for the better. I put this down to the enthusiasm, joy and imagination of the services I have been to at St Paul’s, which is a more modern, creative take on faith, while still providing the familiar, reassuring service flow that I am used to.
Maria
Personally, I feel very much “sent out” each week from St Nic’s to serve, both through my work and other things I an involved in. This is very important to me and I suspect others feel the same.
Member of St Nicholas’
She considers God and Jesus are part of her life & refers to them in her daily life. She says [that the new Rector must be] someone who likes children.
Mother of a Member of J-Club (Aged 5)
From the Schools
St Paul’s CE Junior school has very close ties to the church. The school holds it annual carol services and summer leaving service in the church. The Rector meets regularly with the Headteacher and often takes school assemblies.The Rector has been a Governor and was an important contributor to the recent successful Ofsted inspection.
Penelope Wallace – Chair of Governors
Emmbrook Junior School – The relationship with St Paul’s has been incredibly valuable to our school. Assemblies led by the Rector have reflected our shared values and been a powerful tool for building cohesion within our community. The opportunities that many of our children have enjoyed as a direct result of the financial support of the Parish Rooms are impossible to place a value on and will be something the children remember for the rest of their lives. I hope that the school will continue to be able to enjoy the fantastic relationship with the Parish that is has throughout my time at Emmbrook Junior School.
Mr J Usher – Headteacher
At The Holt, we highly value our links with St Paul’s Church, and it is important to us to keep this high profile relationship.
Katie Pearce and Anne Kennedy – Co-Heads
Whilst we are not a Church of England school, our students are of a variety of faiths, they all benefit from their encounters with the church. This includes visits as part of the Christian churches tour or performing in the annual Christmas concert in the church. We also appreciate the contribution of St Paul’s into school assemblies, services and Remembrance.
On a personal note, we felt so well supported by Fr Richard following the murder of our head of history, James Furlong, in 2020. Not only was he there for us personally, to guide and advise us through the subsequent days but he also kindly opened up the church to our students and their families and for James’ family.
Local Churches
A word from me – St Pauls is an important member of our Churches Together in Wokingham network and it has been great to see relationships between our two Anglican churches in the town flourish over the last few years. We hope and pray that this will continue as we work together to serve the people of Wokingham.
Rev’d Hannah Higginson – All Saints
Wokingham has enjoyed really strong and fruitful ecumenical relationships in recent years, and St Pauls, their clergy team and other volunteers have been very much a part of that. The strong, positive relationships across the town’s churches have enabled some really significant cooperative efforts in ministry and mission to our town, so that we have often been able to speak and act collectively as Churches Together in Wokingham when that has been desirable. As Minister of a Baptist Church within St Paul’s Parish I very much hope that spirit of collaborative working will continue as a new appointment is made.
Rev’d Nick Hudson – Wokingham Baptist Church
Local Community
Soulscape is blessed to have the support of St Paul’s, Woosehill and St Nicholas’ Churches.
Michelle – Operations Manager
Over the years we have formed good, strong relationships with the congregation and valued support from the churches as well as their congregation.
The support ranges from financial contributions, prayer, to practical support and in turn we have also enjoyed supporting certain events the church has run, for example, running a few prayer spaces during a community event.
The Parish feels very community focused and inclusive. This is shown also by the many volunteers who work with us to bless schools by baking for staff, running The Lounge (safe spaces in school), helping run projects such as REVIVE which brings approx. 250 young people to visit the church and find out more about faith, PAUSE our prayer space and many other projects.
On a personal level, the Parish has always made me feel welcome and I value the many friendships, both work and personal, that have been forged.
The St Paul’s area is very diverse in many ways, and we work to ensure that everyone feels included and part of the community. I am one of the 6 local Liberal Democrat Councillors representing the St Pauls area and we celebrate everything from Eid to Chinese New Year. My wife and I are also trustees for Wokingham Pride, an annual event. We would welcome a new rector who supports our values of inclusivity social cohesion and responsibility.
Imogen Shepherd-DuBey – Councillor
Wokingham is an amazing place to work and live, we are fortunate that our community is very inclusive and supportive. However, while much of the population is very affluent there are some who live below the poverty line experiencing significant food insecurity. Sometimes this creates a feeling of ‘the haves and the have nots’. The Foodbank is blessed to have some amazing volunteers from St. Paul’s but we would like to build an even stronger relationship with the church, working together to alleviate the impact of financial hardship felt by residents.
Annette Medhurst – Foodbank Manager