Loughborough, the second biggest town in Leicestershire, has a university. It also has the world’s largest bell foundry and an unusual war memorial carillon tower. Its 14th century church, in a commanding position at the centre of the town, reflects the wealth of the wool trade in the middle ages. The building had a major restoration in the mid-19th century by Gilbert Scott and a re-ordering by George Pace in the 1960s. It has a strong choral tradition and its watchword is inclusiveness. Its Rector is Wendy Dalrymple, a Methodist from her early years who moved to Anglicanism and who favours same-sex marriage. She invites newcomers to explore the Christian faith with depth and intellectual integrity
Emmanuel church describes itself as vibrant and Evangelical. It has a full programme of activities, including a Christian football club, and is one of six resourcing churches in the Leicester diocese that receive grants from the Church Commissioners, It makes church planting central to its activities and is at present engaged in supporting such a project in the form of St Barnabas’s church, Grange Park. The Rector is Michael Broadley. He has a formidable, largely female, team working with him.
The Redeemed Cornerstone Church of God has an international congregation and is firmly rooted in precise adherence to the message of the Bible. It is uncompromisingly millennial. It has a colourful and exuberant website and its newsletter features an article on the hymn ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’. Chuka Duru is its pastor.
New arrivals in Loughborough who are considering their choice of churches face options that are perhaps clearer than in some other places in England. In terms of population make-up Loughborough is home to a BAME community. In terms of overall Christian strategy in such a context it offers, first, a reasonable and inclusive Anglican approach to Christian doctrine. Secondly, it offers a line-up with the evangelistic emphasis of the HTB network and similar churches. Their hallmark is to see church planting as the way forward for a country which is moving away from its Christian heritage. The third option is a free-standing pioneering Christian community of a kind that is becoming increasingly noticeable on the multi-cultural English scene.
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