Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Easter Church Services

Thursday 18 April 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Church reports high attendance at Easter services, supporting the trend of people returning to in-person worship post-pandemic.
  • The Church of England is running initiatives like the pupil chaplain scheme to engage younger families.
  • The Church of England has committed 40 million since 2022 to increase provision for children and young people.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kevin Foster Con
Religion & Faith
Context

This question follows an assessment period where the Church Commissioners are evaluating church service attendance, especially in light of post-pandemic trends.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent assessment the Church has made of trends in the number of families that attend a church service over the Easter period.

Answer from Andrew Selous

Although we do not yet have confirmed numbers of worshippers for this Easter just gone, our clergy report high attendance, among all ages, at services, which supports the post-pandemic trend of people returning to services on Easter day in person to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific numbers or trends were not provided for the most recent Easter period.

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Q2 Kevin Foster Con
Religion & Faith
Context

The Church is looking at various initiatives like the pupil chaplain scheme and regular “Messy Church” events at All Saints Torre to engage younger families.

Question

The future of the Church is reliant on younger families attending and receiving the good news of the Holy Gospel. What assessment has the Church made of initiatives like the pupil chaplain scheme and regular “Messy Church” at All Saints Torre in achieving that?

Answer from Andrew Selous

I was delighted to learn about the pupil chaplain scheme that All Saints Torre is running with Torre Church of England Academy; I will bring it to the attention of the Church nationally. The Church of England has committed £40 million since 2022 to increase provision for children and young people across the country.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific assessment on initiatives was not provided, only a general commitment of funding.

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