‘COMMUNITY’ seems to be the new buzzword and several local churches seem to have adopted the word as part of their title.

They include Bournemouth Community Church, Metropolitan Community Church, Sunnyhill Community Church to name just a few. Some might even wonder if ‘community’ is a new denomination, but it appears that churches simply want to recognise how important their local community is.

The latest convert is Pinehurst Community Church, previously Pinehurst Chapel in West Moors, who after 50 years have recently changed their name to reflect something which is at the heart of what they believe as a church.

One of their Church Leader’s, Clive Bartlett explains why they too have adopted the word in their title. “To us the word community is important for two reasons,” he says. “The first is that we as a church are a community of people, we do not just attend church together, we are in relationship with each other, we are in and out of each others lives. We are not all the same and we don’t think exactly the same way on every subject, but we love each other.

The second reason we value the word community is because we are part of a broader community and we value and love the community around us.

And we believe we have something that is important to share with those around us.”

Clive says that the churches prayer is for ‘more changed lives, people set free, and relationships restored’.

“A change of name doesn’t really matter,” he told me. “Changed lives do. But we believe the name change will help us to communicate the good news about Jesus – who He is and what He can do for you.”

For details on Pinehurst Community Church which meets in Pinehurst Road, West Moors see www.pinehurst.org.uk.