A BOURNEMOUTH reverend has admitted churches must change to support the whole community they represent.

James Sharp, pioneer minister at the Parish of Winton, Moordown and Charminster, said the Church needed to reform in the face of declining Sunday morning congregation numbers.

While he sees the traditional role of the Church still being as important as ever, he said he hopes parish church can be more inclusive.

He took on the role of pioneer minister three years ago when a group of parishes merged.

“My role is to be out in the community and spot opportunities where the church can step into a space it has abandoned, probably over the last half a century,” Rev Sharp said.

“When I started my role I was very interested in my community, where are the gaps, who are the people that are falling between the gaps, where can I get involved on the edges.”

Rev Sharp has played an active role in a number of community initiatives since being appointed.

This includes helping Hope for Food every Saturday at St Alban’s Church Hall, setting up Local Voices community choir with Linwood School, and establishing Hope in the Community to tackle loneliness among older people.

Despite enjoying the unique community that comes together in churches every Sunday, Rev Sharp said he feels “at home” supporting people on the edges of society.

He added: “Although numbers on a Sunday morning are declining massively in the Church of England, I’m really hopeful we have something to offer our culture because we are so broad.

“At our best we are a church for the whole parish, not just people who turn up on a Sunday morning. That is what we radically need to go back to.”

Rev Sharp said the Church of England knows it is not able to continue to do what it has always done, while forgetting the last 2,000 years is not the right approach.

He said: “I want the church to change, I want it to be different. I want to reform the church. I want our culture and town to realise God is love, God is with them and God is for them.”

“I would love us to be known not for shouting Bible verses at people about how rotten and sinful they are, but that our lifestyles communicate the love God has for them.”

“On a Sunday morning when the choir is singing, the incense is in the air, there’s children running around and there are people of all ages there it is incredible. There is no community space quite like it and there are people from all sorts of backgrounds there together.

“Parish church really has something to offer our community if we can be inclusive and open the doors rather than shut the doors and have our own little thing going on. I have got a foot in both camps.

“The pioneer isn’t here to do the pioneering all on his own. The pioneer is here to say together we are going to break out of the walls of the church and we’re going to be like an aroma in our community that brings life, light and love, even if we don’t see those people in church on a Sunday morning. However, it takes time and you don’t just do that in six months.”