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An Update from our PCC

You may have heard that we have a PCC (Parochial church council) at All Saints Worcester, but we are aware that you might not know what this council does and how this impacts the life of the church. As a PCC, we have heard this request to hear more about what we’re working on and will be adding updates here as well as posting up summaries of our meetings on the ASW website.

What is the PCC and what does it do? 

The PCC is part of the leadership structure of All Saints (along with our ministry leaders, group leaders and staff team).  Within the Church of England structures, the PCC has responsibility for "co-operating with the Vicar in promoting the whole mission of the Church". It has responsibility for the maintenance and development of the church buildings, looking after the finances of the church, ensuring we have good health and safety practices, overseeing good safeguarding policy and practice, and overseeing effective HR.  The All Saints Worcester PCC members are also trustees of Worcester Foodbank. 

In practice, the leg-work in these areas is delegated to our staff team, but PCC are there to oversee, challenge, support, and give wise council to support good planning and decision-making.

And currently...

You will remember the PCC sharing particular challenges we have faced in our finances as a church recently and are committed to ensuring that the whole church can see more regularly and clearly where our finances are at and how these enable mission. 

At the moment, PCC are updating and fine tuning the church’s risk register to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect the church from adverse changes and events that could otherwise affect our ability to carry out our mission. Another key item for them is working through the Draft Annual Accounts and Annual Report for 2023 prepared by the Treasurer and Finance Officer, ready for approval, to be presented to the church at the APCM.

Please pray

Please pray for the PCC who are: Phil Bristow and Jenny Prigg (churchwardens); Sandy Bannister, Clive Langmead, Carol Rogerson, Gill Lucas, Andrew  Jackman, Grahame Lucas, Steve Chase, Mike Croft (elected lay members); and Rich Johnson, James Ellin, Jess Fellows, Fraser Oates, and Jamie Klair (clergy members).  We’re aiming to get their photos up in church and on the website to make it easier to see who’s who!

Thanks and prayers also for church members who were co-opted on to PCC in 2023, Rob Coleman and David Green and now stepped down, for their valuable insight and input over the year. 

Pray for them as they give their time, prayer, expertise, wisdom and skill to support the leadership of the church.  Please pray for blessing, courage, health, and strength for them and for their families.


Philippa Barton

Mission Partner Update

Read the latest updates from Tearfund and the Stretton-Downs’ ministry in Liberia

The Mobile Dental Clinic in Liberia

In the past couple of months we've heard about two of our international mission partners in our Sunday gatherings. In February we focused on Tearfund’s Church and Community Transformation project in Tanzania. Tearfund has recently released a great, and funny(!), one-minute video which gets to the heart of what Church and Community Transformation is all about - enjoy it here.

More recently we have also been praying for Simon and Grace Stretton-Downes, who provide a Dental Clinic and School in Liberia. Having made four trips to the dentist in the last 8 weeks, this has become a matter close to my heart and mouth! The Stretton-Downes celebrated a huge milestone in their work last month - opening a container clinic (pictured), which hugely expands what they can do, to help the long-term flourishing of God’s mission there. Check out the short video about the new facility here and hear an update from Simon here.

If you have a heart for mission, and want to help us encourage and be encouraged by our mission partners, email Andrew Jackman (jackmanandrewg@gmail.com) to find out about joining the group!

Jamie Klair

Youth Ministry at All Saints and Beyond!

An update from Youth Community Missioner, Jo

I have to say I think working with young people (aged between 10 and 18) is the most rewarding, fun, creative and challenging job I have ever done.  If you are currently working out whether to step into youth work, do let me know and I would love to chat to you!  

I am always blown away by God’s kindness and faithfulness as we put in our little and He gives His all.  The youth ministry at All Saints seems to be thriving at a time when we are told numbers of youth and children in churches is on the decline.  As a team we host and create spaces for the young people of All Saints in multiple ways.  
These include:  

  • Sunday Morning sessions - this last month we have been inviting different people from across the congregation to come and share something of their journey with Jesus.  Our mornings are always relaxed, a chance to catch up with friends but also to dive deeper into our faith and what it looks like to follow Jesus. 

  • Food and Bible (FAB) - Twice a month we eat and we read the Bible together! It’s so simple but we have seen numbers grow week on week.  Last Friday there were 18 young people sat around the Autys' table!  

  • Socials - Once a month we get creative as a team and create a space for the young people to invite friends to, we usually play games, eat snacks and catch up and often there is opportunity to hear from one of the team about what God is up to! We would love to see this space grow with young people who don’t yet know the life and light Jesus brings so they may be introduced in an easy and accessible way to Him.  

  • The 6pm - We are seeing more young people coming along to the 6pm Gathering each Sunday evening, more getting involved in serving through sung worship, tech and hosting. It is always a joy to see young people to responding in worship and prayer and being moved by the Spirit.  


In the different spaces we are facilitating, we are seeing over 40 young people across each month connecting in to the life of All Saints and being discipled in some way. Of course, it’s not about numbers.  The most beautiful part of youth work is seeing the young people grasp hold of their saviour Jesus and to build their lives on the one who sees, knows and loves them in abundance!  

L I G H T B O X
You may have heard of Lightbox over the last year but let me tell you more!  Lightbox is a collaborative project run by churches across Worcester to create spaces for young people in and around the city.  We do this through drop-ins, pop-ups and events, in schools, colleges, public spaces and churches.  The vision expanded in 2022 as we acknowledged the growing need for young people to have places to belong, people to connect to and ways to build community. 

We are praying for God to continue to expand our reach by building team ecumenically and helping us to make connections with schools and organisations aiming to care for and provide a service for young people in Worcester. We recognise that if we are going to do this well, we must do it together. 

At the moment we have two Lightbox Drop-Ins - one at St Peter’s baptist and one in St Helen’s on the High Street.  We currently go into Worcester Sixth Form College and have plans to go into Christopher Whiteheads in the Summer term.  We also had our first Lightbox Pop-Up in Cathedral Square on the 7th March which will continue once a month until Summer. In 2023, alongside Perdiswell Young People’s Leisure Club, Lightbox ran the first ever One Community Youth Day, seeing 500 young people in one space, 30 Lightbox volunteers and 12 different youth supporting organisations. And we hope to do the same again this Summer.  It was incredible to see so many working together to say, pretty loudly, that the young people of Worcester matter. 

Jo Oates