Keysoe, St Mary the Virgin version: 1

Things seen about our local community

• The village is fragmented and spread out, with no shop or similar central meeting place.
• Families and individuals may be isolated, with few neighbours and limited communication with other villagers.
• People happily support or attend community events, but few want to be active.

Three things we have seen about our church

• We have a steady, but ageing congregation. Weekly attendance is rather small, but considerably larger on feast days.
• Families with young children are often reluctant to attend church regularly - other activities compete.
• Some people are happy to help the church in material ways, but are not prepared to worship regularly.

Vision (for five years' time)

We would like to see a thriving church community with regular services and group activities, more participation by the young generation and continuing care for the sick and lonely.

Priorities (for the next five years)

• Maintenance of regular worship and the church fabric.
• Fund raising and completion of the project to provide kitchen and toilet facilities for the church building.
• Gathering young families to take an active part in church life.

Goals (for the next year)

• Provision of kitchen and toilet facilities for the benefit of church users and to promote wider use of church building.
• Building a more active and worshipping church community of all ages.