New vision for Top Church

Anyone who thinks they might like to be involved in establishing the new ‘Resourcing Church’ in the building is welcome to attend at 4pm.

Revd James Treasure will outline the vision behind a new contemporary congregation to be established at the church following an award of £2.5million from the Church of England.

The interior of the church will be completely re-ordered and the money allows for a number of appointments to be made to enable the church to better serve the Dudley area.

Revd Treasure said: “At the moment, the current congregation averages around 20 people each Sunday.

“We are planning to grow this to around 250 people over the next five years, so that we can become a real blessing to the local community as well as help support other Dudley churches.

“However, I can’t do this on my own and Sunday is an opportunity for others in the town to find out about our plans and get involved.”

The Resourcing Church is due to be officially launched in September 2019, once changes have been made to the interior of the building.

Over the next year, Revd Treasure will begin to build a congregation who will develop a vision for a church which will live out their faith, working with partner organisations to meet the needs of the people in Dudley.

“This year is the 200th anniversary of the building of Top Church,” he added.

“We want to make sure it’s there for at least another 200 years!

“We’ve already had some positive feedback on our plans – our aim is to make the church fit for the 21st century, while keeping the historical features of the church.

“We’ll certainly be taking out the pews so that the space can be more flexibly used throughout the week. We hope that Top Church will become a brilliant mix of old and new – it’s a great opportunity to retain the stories of the church at the same time as creating new ones.”

Refreshments will be available at the meeting and there will be an area for children.