Devon: Catholic church reopens nearly double its original size to keep up with growing congregation

Source: Diocese of Plymouth

In a corner of rural Devon better known for its market town history than its diversity, St John and St James Church in Tiverton reopened last month after a rebuild that nearly doubles its size - the realisation of a decades' long promise of a new Catholic church for Tiverton.

The parish's growth has tracked migration into the region: people from Central and Eastern Europe, some of whom returned home after Brexit, but others who chose to stay permanently; then a large number from India; and, more recently, arrivals from across Africa.

"A good number of parishioners work in the area's hospitals and care sector", parish priest Canon Kristian Paver said, "alongside food processing and other, often low-paid, jobs, largely staffed by immigrant workers. A significant proportion of those are part of the Catholic community - people who aren't rich by any means, but who work hard and are committed to providing for their families."

Canon Paver said he now regularly blesses the homes of families, often Indian, who have bought property in the area after years of renting - a small but telling sign, he said, of families putting down roots rather than passing through. He said the parish has also seen a small but noticeable uptick in parishioners in their twenties. Some are newly initiated Catholics, and others are still searching but feel drawn to the Catholic Church.

That growth has been reflected in the area's housing boom, part of a wider pattern of expansion across Mid Devon that has drawn commuters to nearby Exeter, Taunton and even Bristol.

The result was a parish that had begun to run out of room. The rebuilt church - a 1967 building originally constructed as a social centre - now seats up to 240, with additional capacity in the large narthex, and a new spire and bellcote marking it clearly as a place of worship from the road for the first time in its history.

The project's environmental credentials are equally impressive. Rather than demolishing the 1967 structure, the plans reused and extended the existing building - reducing embodied carbon and avoiding unnecessary waste, while achieving long-term life-cycle benefits and preserving the church's identity.

The finished building has achieved an A-rated energy performance certificate, the highest available, with heat pumps supplemented by photovoltaic panels on the community hall's flat roof. Gas has been removed from the church building entirely, as part of the diocesan commitment to attempt to move away from the use of fossil fuels. A rainwater harvesting system, fed by rainwater collected from the roof and stored within a 7000-litre tank located beneath the car park, supplies the church's toilets and an outdoor tap for the gardens. Local tradespeople and contractors were used throughout construction.

A Memorial Garden has created a space for reflection and remembrance, while a vegetable and herb garden is being established as part of the parish's commitment to Laudato Si', Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical on care for the environment.

Throughout the development, care has been taken to retain and reuse church heritage wherever possible. Existing fittings - including pews, the Rood, the Stations of the Cross, and statues from the original church of St John in Tiverton and from the previous St James - have been restored mainly by local craftsmen and reused wherever possible, alongside furnishings recovered from other churches, including a font from a former church within the diocese and two bells salvaged from churches further afield.

The external works have enhanced the setting of the church while supporting biodiversity, through permeable parking, EV charging points, cycle racks, wildflower planting, bee - and pollinator-friendly species, fruit trees and retained hedgerows.

The Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Reverend Nicholas Hudson, celebrated a special Mass for the dedication of the St John and St James Church and the consecration of its altar on Saturday 26 September.

"What strikes me most is not just the beautiful building, but the community that will fill it," the bishop said, "families who have come from India, from Eastern Europe, from across Africa, alongside those whose families have worshipped here for generations. Along with the new church I recently dedicated in Gillingham in Dorset, it is a sign that the Diocese of Plymouth is growing and growing in a way that cares for our common home."

The finished building marks the start of a new stage in the life of the Catholic community in Tiverton, said Canon Paver, founded upon the generations who worshipped in the original church of St John and the later church of St James. With new housing estates continuing to be built across the area, he believes many newcomers - Catholic and otherwise - remain unreached.

"There is such an amount of building taking place, new estates appearing everywhere, not just in Tiverton but in all the villages around us," Canon Paver said. "As a church, we haven't yet been able to reach out to those spaces. There are significant numbers of people moving in - some we know because they come to church, but there will be others who are waiting to be invited to discover or rediscover the beauty of the Christian faith and to become part of the Catholic community."

He said the church's design reflects that aim directly: its windows were left deliberately clear, rather than fitted with stained glass, so passersby can see in and those inside remain aware of those outside. "This is not a closed building open only to those who already belong to the Church," he said. "Everyone is welcome to come in and to experience the sacred space and grow in the faith journey. Likewise, it reminds us as a Catholic community that it is part of a Christian calling to go out into the world and take the faith to others."

That openness extends beyond worship: as before, the church's community hall will be available to non-church groups, giving the parish a further point of contact with local residents who may never otherwise walk through its doors.

The parish is keen for that welcome to be mutual. For nearly two years during construction, the congregation was hosted by the neighbouring Church of England parish of St Andrew's, which has led to real friendship between the two communities, including jointly marking parts of Holy Week. "There's a desire that even when we move back to our own building, the links we have created with that community will continue," he said. "We want them to feel just as welcome to come to us as we have been welcome to come to them."

LINK

New church revamp 'brings people to tears': www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckjw5e3q37epo

St John and St James Church in Tiverton: https://stjameschurchtiverton.org.uk/