Short Profile and Background

Kenilworth

Located in Warwickshire between Leamington and Coventry, Kenilworth is a medium sized town of ~30,000 people. The town has an historic past including the ruins of its castle and 16th century houses. Since then it has grown in several phases with modest housing near the centre and estates of mainly detached houses to serve the large commuting population around the edge. In the centre there is a weekly market, several small supermarkets, charity shops and the essential services for the town. However, many inhabitants work and shop out of the town.

For the professional population material poverty is not a major issue, but spiritual poverty and loneliness can be, especially as many only stay in the town for a few years. Against the background of a prosperous small town, there are many who are not well off and may feel their problems are overlooked. There is a significant population of retired people including: those who are active and enthusiastic to serve in voluntary roles; and those whose health and finances are not what they were, may live in sheltered housing schemes and look to the churches for support and companionship.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Kenilworth has several primary schools feeding into a single secondary school with a separate sixth form unit. These schools mostly have very good academic credentials and OFSTED reports. While there are plenty of groups for pre-school children, as in many small towns, there is a need for activities to keep older children and young people occupied and entertained.

Some 3,000 attend the various churches in the town and provide a strong Christian presence: Methodist, URC, four Anglicans, two Catholic, Heart of England Revival... There is active ecumenical fellowship through Churches Together in Kenilworth which arranges monthly joint worship and an annual open air service in the Abbey Fields (a large parkland in the centre of the town).

The Methodist Church

The overall mission of the church is very close to that outlined in the Methodist leaflet Our Calling.

Kenilworth Methodist Church (KMC) has an active congregation of 300-400 spanning all ages, ranging from babies to the 90+ group with significant representation from all between. The main 10 am Sunday service usually has about 180 adults and 30 children (0-13). There are also a significant number in the YPF (young people's fellowship) who tend to meet separately. Each week there is a, more traditional, evening service and, once a month, an early morning communion. Additionally there is a monthly praise service where contemporary worship is explored.

Church activities and support continues throughout the week. There is a layworker and a network of pastoral visitors who keep in regular contact with all the congregation. A number of people do meet regularly in housegroups and this is an area we would like to develop further. There are also groups that meet in the church during the week: Women's Fellowship (for older ladies), men's and women's evening groups, Scouts, Guides, toddlers and youth groups.

The church buildings have recently been completely rebuilt and refurbished, opened in January 2002. They now provide much needed facilities for all the Junior Church groups to meet in comfortable surroundings, an enlarged worship centre with improved acoustics as well as the original 1902 hall for lively activities. The church has a vision that these facilities will not only enhance our own worship, but also provide space for other groups in the town, who are not necessarily meeting as Christians. We are convinced that having these facilities presents many new opportunities to spread the love of Christ to all those who come in, a platform for attracting more people to the Gospel and a base from which to work beyond the town of Kenilworth.

KMC also employ a caretaker who looks after the fabric of the building, an administrative assistant, who organises the church office, and have a substantial number of volunteers who perform many task associated with Sunday worship and pastoral care.

As part of the Methodist Connexion, Kenilworth is one of the larger churches in the Leamington and Warwick Circuit, which has 10 churches in a mixture of larger towns and small country villages. The Circuit is served by four ministers, two circuit lay workers and about twenty Local Preachers. Within the town, KMC also plays a leading role in the ecumenical alliance of Churches Together in Kenilworth.

Last modified: 24-11-2004