Alveston PCC

Who we are

We are a church family seeking to follow Christ through welcoming all, supporting one another and serving the communities in which we live and work. We are part of the Church of England in the diocese of Coventry. We are ordinary people who recognise that everyone needs friendship, inspiration, motivation and energy to live out the Christian faith. We don't have all the answers but we have a desire to journey together and learn as we go.

We have two buildings in which we meet, a beautiful traditional church in the village of Alveston and a smaller more modern and multi purpose building in Manor Road, Stratford upon Avon. Both buildings need care and attention, sometimes taking up a lot of energy and money but we try to focus on the people in our church family as a priority.

We have a vision, seeking to help people encounter God and engage more fully with Him through lots of different opportunities. We aim to serve and support those in our church family and in the wider community and we want to work together to bring about Gods kingdom of love and justice and reconciliation.

Our Sunday services are eucharistically centred, seeing the need for us to meet together and eat together to refuel us for the days ahead. We have lots of other opportunities to meet together during the week, some social and some focused more on our spiritual development.

Our Mission

We have identified 6 key areas of our Mission of 'growing in the right direction':

• caring
• nurturing
• sociable
• visible
• welcoming
• sustaining

Caring

it was recognised that as a church community we are uniquely placed to offer care. There are particular times when people seek us out and also an everyday need for care. There was an emphasis on caring for those who may be lonely, infirm, anxious or distressed and an acknowledgement that we must be clear about the ways in which it is appropriate for us to offer care.

Nurturing

supporting peoples spiritual development was raised as both essential and challenging. It is recognised that people need help identifying and using the gifts they have and exploring spirituality. There was a desire to provide worship in an accessible and appropriate way to try and meet a wide range of needs.

Sociable

We come together on a regular basis to have fun and enjoy each others company. Its important to have a team available who can rustle up cake and wine!   We particuarly enjoy quiz nights, a glass of wine after special services and generally celebrating those special events in life.

Visible

making the church relevant and at the heart of our communities means offering a variety of opportunities for people to be involved and benefit from what we do. It is recognised that our activities need to mean something and are a way of gradually preparing the hearts and minds of people for Christ.

Welcoming

there was a strong message about the importance of welcoming everyone in all our services and activities. It is clear people recognise that welcoming happens both at the beginning, during and at the end of our contact with others. There is an understanding that welcoming is the responsibility of us all.

Sustaining

we want to have enough money to do our work of mission and worship and pay the bills . It was clear that people find talking about money uncomfortable. There was a request to not make fundraising too central to what we do and to see our purpose and vision as the driving force behind what we need and use money for.