Our Churches Our Mission
The latest available comparative figure for national attendance on a normal Sunday in the Church of England is the available figure for 2003 - 850,000.
We have taken the attendance figures for February and August 2005 and 2006 and used them as the sample for being representative over the year, excluding festivals. We have also recorded the attendances for the last two Christmas and Easter services separately. The Christmas figures include the 24 December midnight services and the Christmas Day services.
I have linked Alwinton and Holystone as if they were one church, as the services are in either one church or the other, and are not held at both at the same time; the same is true for Thropton and Hepple attendances.
"Normal" Sunday services:
Rothbury 87
Thropton/Hepple 14
Alwinton/Holystone 23
Alnham 11 (assumed, once monthly)
TOTAL 135 congregation on a 'representative Sunday in the year.
Christmas:
Rothbury 219
Thropton/Hepple 37
Alwinton/Holystone 100 Alnham 10
TOTAL 366
Easter:
Rothbury 176
Thropton/Hepple 35
Alwinton/Holystone 109
Alnham 10
TOTAL 330
Based on two assumptions: -
(i) the population of England is 50 million, and
(ii) the population of the parish is 4,500,
The national attendance on non-festival Sundays is 1.7%of population.
Upper Coquetdale parish attendance is 3.0%. This is 76% above the national average.
However, it is probable that compared with rural communities, our "percentage above" figure, might be considerably less.
But there IS faith in them there hills - praise God. |
