Displaying items by tag: migration boosts churches

Migrant communities from West Africa and India are renewing and revitalising Manchester churches. As many of them work at hospitals, Fr Paul Hutchins has added a mid-week service to make attendance easier for people working at weekends. He also encourages members to shape the worship, bringing hymns and prayers from their churches of origin, helping them feel as at home as possible. He says, ‘Five years ago we had sparks of promise as a multicultural congregation, but in a short space of time we have seen huge increases in new worshippers from Ghana, Nigeria, and South India.’ Three churches in the diocese have seen huge boosts to their congregations, mostly thanks to the families which have migrated to the area.