The Church of England’s first Head of its new Growing Faith Foundation has been announced as Lucy Moore.
Lucy is a secondary school teacher by training who in 2004 began Messy Church. Originally a Fresh Expression in a church near Portsmouth, Messy Church now has more than 3,500 settings in over 30 countries.
The Growing Faith Concept began in 2019 to promote partnership between the church, school, and household to encourage and nurture Christian faith in those of all ages within those communities.
This has resulted in a number of initiatives at a diocesan and parish level, and a major series of ‘Faith at Home’ video resources, which were widely used during Covid-19 lockdown.
The new Foundation will seek to build on and expand this work, and to be a strategic lead across the Church of England to grow a younger church and increase engagement with children and families in different settings.
The role is part-funded by a generous grant from AllChurches Trust.
Credit: St Peter's, Prestbury
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said: “We’re delighted that Lucy will bring her considerable gifts and experience to the important work of setting up the Growing Faith Foundation, which goes to the heart of the Church of England’s aim to grow younger and more diverse.
“Growing Faith has already become a key concept for engaging younger people in the home, at school and in church, and this is an exciting time as we develop resources through the Foundation, with the aim of helping more young people to encounter Jesus Christ.”
In the Diocese of Chester, one of the things to come out of the Growing Faith agenda is Youth Speak. Youth Speak is a forum made up of 10-18 year-olds who meet together and exchange ideas on topics relevant to young people and the wider world. The hope going forward is that the Youth Speak forum will report to the Bishops' Council and Diocesan Synod to ensure young people's voices are heard at the highest levels of the diocese.
The next meeting of Youth Speak is on Saturday 11 December where they will discuss the environment and inclusion. Bishop Julie will also be in attendance alongside the young people.
If you know a young person who would like the Church to grow and change, then Youth Speak would love to hear from you. Find out more here.