In 2020 we formed an Inclusion Group tasked with improving the justice and inclusivity for our Church family. The group meets approximately once a month online.
The group is - Naomi Jacobs, Mike Poole, Bobby Baker, Meg Wroe, Joy Hinson, Garry Rutter, Jean Wilson and Brian Jackson. We are a blend of people from a range of backgrounds and life experiences.
From our experiences we hope to bring the necessary ingredients required to evolve St Luke’s into as wide a table as possible, where all can come to share freely and equally, in God’s rich diversity of life.
In March 2021 we created a survey questionnaire reaching out to our community and asking ‘Are We Including You?’ Thanks to everyone who completed this survey about how inclusive you feel St Luke’s is.
Our thanks especially to Dr Naomi Lawson Jacobs, who has kindly analysed the data and created a report (May 2021) which you can read in full here:
Naomi sums up the many positive aspects from the survey:
There is a sense that people see St Luke’s as an inclusive church, blessed with gifted people using their talents for the benefit of the church. Many value the church’s ethos of social justice, rooted in its radical, progressive theology and expressed through inclusive liturgy. For some, St Luke’s is a place where it is safe to doubt, and to come wherever they are in their faith.
Many people have appreciated the livestreamed services and online groups, helping to keep the community together in new and creative ways during lockdown. Some said the strong St Luke’s community is caring. Several enjoy the down-to-earth feel of St Luke’s.
But the survey also highlighted some of the barriers we still need to overcome:
Many people talked about finding it hard to break into the St Luke’s community (11 comments), especially socially. Several mentioned not feeling like they belong.
Some of these people found informal socialising hard, e.g. after-church coffee – especially if they are new, or do not know many people, or come to church alone (7 comments).
This is really helpful for us to know, so thanks for the honest responses. We are all part of St Lukes together and want to grow to be a place where everyone feels they belong. The inclusion group are meeting regularly to discuss the findings and work out our response, we aim to come up with a plan of action to take to John our vicar and the PCC and to roll out at St Lukes as soon as possible.