Faith and fun over a coffee

16 February 2009

When you walk into the hall at All Saints church in Hunmanby on a Sunday morning, you'll see mothers sitting at tables sipping coffees and chatting, children getting creative with arts, and older people enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

This is café church.

Church Army Evangelist Shena Woolridge, a single mother of two, started it last year after noticing that 20 to 30-year-olds in the area, especially those with young children, were not attending church. Shena's answer to this was to start an informal church service where young children could run around and make a lot of noise, and where adults of little or no faith could meet and explore the Christian faith in a new way.

"I think that young adults are not used to the culture of a formal church service," says Shena. "They enjoy an interactive journey with spiritual links; it's more of a natural way to engage with lifestyle issues - not a style on offer in most traditional services."

Café church is located in a typical English country village, near the community centre and library. It is a warm and comfortable setting for informal church. There are no pulpits, altar rails or religious symbols. Café church opens its doors to everyone.

This non-traditional approach to church is important for the villages of Hunmanby and Muston, a rural area about a mile from the sea. The families based there reflect modern life: you'll find single young mothers, grandparents who take on the role of raising their grandchildren, and other styles of family groups.

Read the entire article, as published by inspire magazine, here.

See more about Shena's ministry, including a short film at this link.