Author, Ruth Leigh highlights the vital role of women in rural ministry, sharing uplifting stories from the LoveRural Conference. Her article showcases how female clergy and laywomen are bringing faith, hope, and community engagement to the countryside.
I’ll be honest with you. I’ve never met an Archdeacon (although I did once run into the Archbishop of Canterbury). However, when I attended the LoveRural Conference in the magnificent surroundings of St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, I met three in the space of as many hours. And they were all women.
I was there with around 170 other delegates to hear talks, network and attend workshops about the rural church. If you believe all you read, rural parishes are struggling because there aren’t enough staff, or money, and the buildings are expensive to heat and repair. It would be easy to believe the narrative that it’s all pretty grim in the countryside, apart from Harvest Festival (lots of fruit and vegetables to hand) and at Christmas, when everyone goes to church.
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That’s not the story I saw unfolding through the talks and conversations at LoveRural. Archdeacon Sally Gaze works in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and decided to organise a conference to help resource those who work in rural areas. And, as it turns out, women are a huge part of that work.
“We focused on missional listening, youth work and the challenges of working in a multi-parish benefice, amongst other topics. Many of our delegates were women who are a key part of their rural communities and who are able to reach out to young families through working with schools and getting people involved with initiatives such as Messy Church,” Sally explained.
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One such is Rev. Chrissie Smart who is in charge of the eight churches within the Four Rivers Benefice Group of Churches in Mid-Suffolk. “We’ve started to see an increase in baptisms and engagement with young people. Gen-Z want to know more about faith, but they’re not familiar with church, so for me it’s all about working on authentic relationships. We’ve got a long way to go, but I’m seeing real growth.”
I see so many women, young and old, who are steadfast in serving their church and communities
Diane Grano, who works with the Lightwave Community in West Suffolk, agrees. “I see so many women, young and old, who are steadfast in serving their church and communities. Of course, many men are serving sacrificially, but many more women are actively involved in ploughing and sowing for the Kingdom. A dear lady called Mary, ninety years old, encourages, teaches and shares her wisdom with young mums and whenever she is able to get to church and coffee mornings. Women of all ages are instrumental in keeping rural churches open, walking alongside vulnerable families and making people who don’t go to church feel loved.”
New generations are finding out about the good news of Jesus in the countryside.
New generations are finding out about the good news of Jesus in the countryside. “There is a little girl called Evie in our community who brings her mum to church and walks around writing in her little diary. One day, I got a phone call from her mum saying that Evie wanted to be baptised. They’re not a church family, but Evie told me, ‘I’m writing down what God is saying and what happens at church.’ She gives me hope for the future.”
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Sally and her team had a vision to bring the rural church together, and like autumn leaves swirling over the open countryside, the female delegates have returned to their work uplifted, with a whole new perspective on church in the rural context.
Will there be a second conference? “We’re seeking discernment on that. It was so wonderful to sit in the cathedral affirming the importance of the rural church, remembering that God is in the small things and seeing our delegates being encouraged. I have wondered if we should organise a conference for women.”
As the crops are safely stored in barns and the countryside prepares for winter, it’s clear that women are being used by God to bless their rural communities and ensure that more people hear about Jesus.
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