‘We’ve done so many things with technology,’ said Treasurer Mrs Rachel Stanley. ‘A really good use was when one of our members agreed to host a Ukrainian refugee family. We were able to send videos of us and our services to them via WhatsApp, so that when they arrived they already knew us and could settle in really quickly. Although they are Roman Catholics, they now attend the church. 

 

‘We have used lighting and special effects to stage our biennial panto for the local community, and when the children weren’t allowed to mix during the second lockdown our minister created a Christmas treasure hunt around the village using QR codes at different locations, so the children could find and scan them to watch videos about the Nativity.

 

‘It’s no exaggeration – especially when you look at the refugees, and the way older people can keep in touch with the church – to say that technology has changed lives.’

 

Mrs Stanley – who said she was ‘surprised and delighted’ that the church’s entry had been chosen as a regional winner – already knows where the prize will go.

 

‘Back to the projector,’ she said, ‘we had been planning to install blinds to keep the church a little darker, especially in the summer, to make the text easier to read – the money will go towards that.’