The Diocese of Salisbury will be one of the first in the Church of England to partner with the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) to deliver a major new project to help churches rediscover music as a pathway to mission and discipleship for children and young people.
Funded by a £400,000 award from the Church of England’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board, The Choir Project is a three-year programme that will allow the RSCM, which is based at Salisbury’s Sarum College, to provide direct support to churches that want to bring children back into their choirs, or to start new ones. The funding will also support the development of new training and other resources to equip those who seek to reengage with children and young people through music ministry, in particular to ensure that this work is rooted in faith and supports the growth of discipleship.
The Diocese of Salisbury is among the first to partner with the RSCM in this programme, including through a network of Beacon Churches – parishes where music ministry among children and young people has already borne fruit – that will provide mentoring to others who want to develop their own plans. In the first group of Beacon Churches is St Mary’s, Swanage, which started rebuilding a junior choir after the Covid pandemic, developing it alongside the church’s long-established adult choir. Now numbering 15 members, the choir meets to rehearse weekly, sings in two services each month and also has high visibility in Swanage through its participation in concerts and events.
St Mary’s Assistant Director of Music, David Fawcett, who leads this work, commented: “Building a junior church choir from scratch is challenging, but by no means impossible. It needs the right structures to be put in place – such as mutually-beneficial partnerships with other bodies, especially schools, and the support of the whole church to ensure that it is about more than just music, and that children have every opportunity to grow in faith as they grow as musicians. We are looking forward to sharing our experience with others and helping them to find their own pathways to success.’
Image: The choristers of St Mary's Swanage
The Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Stephen Lake, commented: “The diocese and the RSCM have long enjoyed a close and fruitful relationship. With several churches in the diocese already showing what can be done through music ministry to engage children and young people in the worshipping heart of the Church, we’re delighted to be working on this project putting choirs at the heart of our mission with young people. It’s clear that when given positive exposure, opportunity and encouragement, young people are inspired and engaged by church music.”