Five years ago, Christ Church Freemantle with Millbrook were without a vicar and the congregation was dwindling. Now numbers are growing, and from two children in Sunday School, there are now up to 25! Thirteen people from the church have been confirmed in the last year, with two more planning their confirmations. Many were new to faith and many are even new the country, with the church now welcoming new members from Africa, Iran, Pakistan, India and Poland.
The church has an incredible story to tell about inclusion with members of the congregation from all four corners of the globe, with different nationalities and communities coming together to share in the love of Christ.
“They are just walking in, not having been to a church before, a man from South Africa, a mother from Nigeria, another mother from Iran and many more!” says Revd Karen Linington, who started at the church as vicar in 2023. “They come with questions and over time they come to faith. We are seeing God really move in our small church.”
Paris is one of the people who has discovered faith and the church. She moved to Southampton from Iran with her husband, on a student visa to study for a masters at the University of Winchester. Eight months ago, she gave birth to a baby daughter but suffered from post-natal depression for some weeks afterwrds. Paris said, “I couldn’t talk about it with my health visitor – I was worried in case she took my baby away. I knew no one else in Southampton except my husband who worked all the time, I was very alone.”
She recalls the day she first walked past the church. “I was crying that day and I saw that the door to the church was open. A lovely woman told me that I could come in for a tea. After 15 minutes, Revd Karen came. They had called her to say, ‘there’s a woman with a baby who needs help.’ She spoke to me for a long time and said, ‘We can help you. We are your friends, and we are your family.’ She sent me messages saying, ‘I am thinking of you and praying for you.’ She asked me to come to a service one Sunday and afterwards, all the people of the church came to talk to me. Because I was so alone not speaking to anyone, I felt happy, excited, and accepted by these people. After a month, Karen gave me a Bible in my language, and I read it each night after my baby was asleep. I realised that I wanted to be a Christian because this is a kind God, I had been looking for God like this my whole life, and in Iran I never had the opportunity to meet him. I needed God in my life.”
Paris attends the church’s Bible study group where they have been reading each of the books of the Bible using ‘Bible Project’ online, which explains all of the stories and doctrines of Christian faith. The Bible Project is available in multiple languages, helping everyone join in the discussions.
The church also offers a translation service. People can scan a code in the church to access an app, which allows them to see the service in their own language. The church also sends out hymns and other information ahead of services, to help people read, translate, and understand before they attend.
“The whole week, I’m waiting for Sundays and Mondays,” Paris continued. “Sunday for coming to the service and Monday for coming to Karen’s home for Bible study. The people of this church are my family and my friends. Whenever I have a problem, I just tell them and they’re always here for me.”
Paris and her baby were baptised on the same day, and she was later confirmed at Winchester Cathedral. Giving her life to Jesus was a huge decision, given the persecution experienced by some Christians in her home country, where she still has family. In a time of uncertainty and fear, she says God makes her feel brave.
Bible study groups have started after many years at Christ Church and take place twice a week. Seven members of the congregation have been part of the Bishops Commission for Mission, and the church now has a thriving PCC. Children are also asked to suggest issues for the PCC to discuss, encouraging the next generation to take their role in the church.
The church has strong links with the next-door primary school and runs a popular after school club called ‘Artistic Adventurers’ each Monday, attracting around 20 children and their parents. It’s the most diverse primary in Southampton where 63 different languages are spoken.
The church also recently celebrated its 160th anniversary. There was a weekend of celebrations with an exhibition of the church’s history, artwork from school children and local artists, music and children’s activities on the Saturday and a service led by Bishop Rhiannon on the Sunday. She also confirmed one of the congregation, Moses.
Bishop Rhiannon said, “I’m thrilled to be here and to be part of what’s going on, because this is an amazing church. So many people have been confirmed and come to faith here in the last year. It’s phenomenal and people have come from all sorts of backgrounds in all parts of the globe. It’s just such a beautiful place where God is at work.”
Freemantle with Millbrook was historically the home to dock workers and has a history of being one of the most deprived areas of Southampton. Bishop Rhiannon praised the church for moving with the times and the needs of the community, for its consistent story of deep faith with innovation and growth, and for its resilience. The church’s strapline is ‘A place of welcome, where faith grows, lives change, and the Kingdom of God is made visible’ and is underpinned by the values of inclusivity, hospitality and discipleship.
Richard came to Christ Church with his family around 18 months ago after leaving Pakistan and a difficult life where it was hard to live out his faith. He grew up in a Christian family and volunteered for his church’s Sunday school. He said, “Being a Christian in my country is really tough. They are not in a good condition, they are not happy, they are not treated well. In my country, to go to church and to follow Christ is a difficult task. At Christmas and Easter, the paramilitary has to protect the church in order for Christians to pray. I started to recognise that if I don’t take my children away from Pakistan, they will have a very worse life in future.”
Richard was a trained nurse and passed exams need to qualify for work here. He’s now a cardiac nurse at Southampton General Hospital. “I feel very blessed that God brought me here. Both my children now attend Freemantle Academy, the church school. So, every day before going to the school, we would come to the church and pray, and we met Revd Karen. She warmly welcomed us, and we became a part of this church.”
He continued, “I’m very blessed that God has given me this church, and we have become part of it, and that it’s warmly welcomed me. We have Africans, we have one Iranian, Pakistani, and a few people from India and Poland as well. This church has amazing people, and it has welcomed them all.”
Children play an important role in the church service. They are encouraged to lead prayers at the front each week, which could be anything from world issues and poverty to the football!
Revd Karen said, “In Sunday School, you can go around the table and ask each child to pray spontaneously and every child will do it, because of the time that we’ve invested to help them to understand that it’s important, in Sunday School and at the front. We had one week where we had an elderly couple of people who were poorly and I said to the children, ‘can you go and pray for them?’ They didn’t even blink, they just did it which was amazing. I’ve never been in a church where children would pray for the adults spontaneously like that. There’s just a hunger for faith from the adults and from the children, which has happened since I arrived.”
The church has just recruited a new Children and Families worker, Hannah Powell, who came back to faith this year. She grew up in a Christian family but turned away from her faith 15 years ago, after giving birth to her son and suffering from postnatal anxiety. Her son is neurodivergent, and sensitive to light and noise, so going out also led to challenges and an increasing feeling of isolation and loneliness.
She said, “I’ve spent 15 years searching for something but not knowing how to get it and wanting to pray to God but feeling really conflicted. Then suddenly my son, a little while ago, said ‘I really want to try church.’ We found this church and it’s so like the church I went to as a child. Suddenly all the words came back, and I found myself crying. I just felt at home and where I was meant to be and it was amazing to come back.
“I have had some difficult times, including my dad suffering from a prolonged period of illness and sadly dying, consequently my anxiety has been up and down, but I finally can say I feel so much peace and calmness now. My son comes with me sometimes. I guess, in a way, I left faith when he was born, and he was the one who brought me back. I always turn to Jesus with everything that I’m doing or every struggle, and then it feels manageable and easy, and I don’t need to worry about it. It’s not me on my own, fighting all the time.”
The church now plans to create an ‘Artistic Adventurers’ group for adults to engage with God through art and continues to celebrate its diversity with a planned service of international culture, and members of the church will also attend Southampton Pride. Recently several people also took part in an evangelism course. The church wants to encourage everyone to use their wealth of experiences, backgrounds, and skills to bring hope, help and love to others!
