Norwich, UK
Picking up some groceries or stopping for a coffee and a chat in the café – for many villagers in the UK such activities are increasingly taking place in the walls of a church as faith communities across the country adapt to the needs of the communities that they serve.
The community in Yarpole in Hertfordshire is among them. Dismayed by the closure of their post office and village shop in 2005, the villagers set out to find a practical solution.
The community shop entrance in St Leonard’s Yarpole. PICTURE: Andrew Praill
“We decided to set up a community shop,” Andrew Praill, a villager involved in the project, told Sight. “Initially it was in a portacabin but that could not a long term solution. Our church, St Leonard’s, needed building work. The village needed a retail shop. We held a massive fund raising exercise. The church was refurbished as a result and even had underfloor heating provided. An area was partitioned off for use as a shop at the west end of the nave.”
The venture has gone from strength to strength, and has won numerous awards such as the Best Village Shop in the UK, and a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. There is one paid staff member, all the rest are volunteers including pupils from local special needs schools and Duke of Edinburgh Award participants.
St Leonard’s Yarpole church sign. PICTURE: Andrew Praill
“During COVID lockdowns, turnover doubled,” said Praill. “There was so much demand that we had to seek extra permission from the local council to use more of the nave to pack orders for deliveries.”
A community business, Yarpole Village shop uses any surplus funds to support the shop and other local projects. The Yarpole Village Shop has become an exemplar of this form of trading.
“People come from far and wide to see how we do it. We get people from around the UK and overseas,” Praill noted.
As news of Yarpole’s success spread, other churches have become involved in similar projects. St Helen’s at Grindleford in the Peak District set up a shop in the former vestry while at Broad Chalke near Salisbury, a United Reformed Church opened a small café and shop.
Rev Jackie Lowe, of Broad Chalke, there were a lot of lonely elderly people in her communitu and no buses.
“We thought it would be nice to have a small place where they could get food and a chat. It was a miracle really as COVID happened soon after. We began by selling basics like milk, bread and eggs but it grew. The villagers have named it the hub.”
One of the newest church shops is currently being created at Holy Trinity Amberley, in Gloucestershire.
Neil Truphet, who was involved in the project, said it was through a conversation with a retired dean of Gloucester that the idea of the church as a venue for a community shop was first proposed.
“The church is keen to see its buildings used more widely for the benefit of the community.”
Looking down the nave of St Leonard’s Yarpole to the church shop. PICTURE: Andrew Praill
These church shops and cafes operate side-by-side with the mission of the church, closing whenever services are held. Church authorities are proving extremely supportive of the concept, recognising that it helps maintain the buildings and provides a community service.
Initial costs can be high – at Yarpole, £240,000 was needed to provide additional facilities like toilets, partitions, insulation and other renovations. This was achieved through a mixture of grants and local residents buying shares in the community business.
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So important has this concept become that the charitable Plunkett Foundation now has a special “Places of Worship campaign’ designed to bring churches and community businesses together, exploring options, providing training, advice and information on sources of funds.
“Our Places of Worship campaign – to bring churches and community businesses together – has only been running for just over a year,” said the foundation’s communications manager Liz Woznicki.
“It was created in response to a number of community businesses struggling to find space within their communities for a community shop and recognising that centrally located and convenient space existed already in churches and was underused. Our aim was to provide specialist business advice and support to both churches and community groups who wanted to explore the opportunities of setting up in a community-owned and run business within an active church. To help we provide free training and advice plus £5,000 in grants for the exploratory phase.”
Looking back on over a decade of successful trading, Andrew Praill points out “it shows how a place of worship and a community can grow in strength by meeting local needs.”
