Stories of Growing Good

Revd Melanie Burnside is a curate in the Diocese of York, where she ministers to five rural churches.

“We used the Growing Good Toolkit during Lent in 2022. It’s really adaptable to your own place and situation. And the ideas in the activities and films were simple, practical, tangible things that we could readily relate to. It affirmed what we were already doing and enabled us to look at next steps.”

Growing Good helped Melanie’s church reconnect with the community after lockdown, which was particularly difficult in rural communities where lack of transport often prevents different people from coming together.

“The toolkit encouraged us to go out of the building and to be open to receiving hospitality from others. We’ve held a quiz night with the local pub and had an open air service with 200 people. We stepped out and we accepted people’s generosity and hospitality, which led to new partnerships and a new sense of being in the community.”