St Giles Church, Wrexham Renews Focus on Music and Community with Church Growth Fund Support

A renewed focus on music, participation and intergenerational community life is taking shape at St Giles Church, Wrexham, supported by investment from the Church Growth Fund.

This initiative forms part of a wider investment awarded to the Diocese of St Asaph through a Tier 2 Church Growth Fund grant of more than £5.6 million. The funding supports two major projects designed to foster church growth. One of these projects established Mission Hubs, with each hub committed to developing a new congregation shaped around a distinct specialist focus.

At the heart of this work is the choir at St Giles, which now brings together around 25 singers ranging in age from 16 to 91. Meeting twice weekly, the choir plays a central role in the worshipping life of the church, while also acting as a welcoming point of connection for people from across Wrexham and the surrounding area.

Choir leader and assistant priest at St Giles Church, Reverend Petra Goodband, says “We're also going to be spreading the gospel message through our music and going out into the city and beyond and just let people see that church music is for everyone”.

The Church Growth Fund has enabled this development by allowing Rev Petra to dedicate time to leading and nurturing the choir, building musical confidence, and encouraging people of all abilities to take part. Regular rehearsals have strengthened both the standard of singing and the relationships within the group. For some members, joining the choir has been their first step into church life.

Rev Petra says “The original idea was a choir of children with some trebles and bells, the choir up. But what actually happened was a love for music that came through members of the congregation and people who are not from this church.”

The Church Growth Fund exists to help churches resource confident and consistent evangelism across the province. Its purpose is to support communities in creating opportunities for people to encounter Jesus. At St Giles, this investment is opening the door to new ways of sharing the good news through music.

“I've been absolutely amazed by the impact that this choir has had” says Petra, “We're not just a choir. We're a family.”