Diocese of Chichester

ST MARY’S Sompting is a beautiful church, more than 1,000 years old, with links to The Knights Templar. It is Grade I listed and famous for its Rhenish Helm spire, one of only a handful in the country. Though loved by the community, it had not held regular services for some time and had begun to deteriorate. There was no heating, paintwork was crumbling, the organ broken and a lych-gate in disrepair. It was closed for most of the week.But thanks to a church partnership programme and great community spirit, it has been undergoing a quiet transformation over the past few months and its future is bright. The partnership was forged by Father Felix Smith, vicar of St Michaels and All Angels in Lancing, who took on the care of the parish of Sompting last year. He tells us the story.

For us as Christians, three main concepts lead people to faith: beauty, goodness and truth. People are attracted to the church through beauty, the wonder of the building, the glory of the music, or the poetry of the liturgy.

They then come to see the goodness of the faith, through the welcome they receive, the preaching they hear, and the connections they make with other Christians.

Finally, through regular engagement with the Mass, they engage with the truth of the Gospel, and the impact that this must have on their life.

This has been our model in establishing a new church congregation at St Mary’s Sompting. We’ve engaged with community groups, schools and other parties keen to see the church flourish. This has highlighted the “goodness” of the faith: friendships, love, and community spirit.

Our prayer then is that, as we engage individuals, groups and the community in this wonderful building, we will begin to see people move from beauty to goodness and finally to embrace the truth of the Gospel.

Linked to all this has been a programme of improving the building with the support of the Friends of Sompting Church.

A key part that allowed the church to reopen was the introduction of new heating. This was paid for with a mixture of a generous legacy and money from the Friends of Sompting Church.

Our next project, just about to start, is the fixing of the lych-gate which has been paid for by two grants from the War Memorials Trust and the Sompting Big Local Project respectively.

We are about to start work on its restoration, including plans for putting right the paintwork inside the church.

The aim is to further enhance the beauty of this church, and thus demonstrate that these efforts are key factors in advancingmission in the community.

On August 15 we start a celebration week full of free events to draw people to the church.

We will kick off with Evensong, followed by Morris dancing and free beer. Other events during the week included concerts, talks on the history of the church, a retreat day, and a tour of a local micro-vineyard, among others are planned.

Following on from the week we will begin a monthly Sunday morning Mass, and occasional Evensongs. The hope is that the number of services increases as the congregation does.

So, in Sompting we give thanks for our beautiful building, a building that has attracted people to worship for over 1,000 years, and a building that is once again calling people to the goodness of Christian community, and the truth of the Gospel, through its glorious beauty.

Mike Tristram, chairman of the Friends of Sompting Church charity, said: “We were delighted that thanks to the efforts of friends past and present, we were able to give the PCC the funds they needed to get the heating running again. It’s essential to conserve the fabric of the church from damp and make it habitable for worship.

“We are also looking forward to working with the PCC on a programme of regular events which can generate income to support further restoration works, so this lovely building can go on to serve and inspire our community.”