The number 20 bus passes the front door of St Denys Church, connecting the parish with Southampton city centre and carrying a steady flow of people through the community. Many of those travelling the route have found a welcome and safe space at St Denys through the church’s range of ministries and projects to support its local community.
Now with national funding as part of the Diocesan Investment Programme (DIP), St Denys is preparing to build on that work across its ‘mission field’, which includes the number 20 bus route.
After an 18-month funding process, St Denys secured £225,000 over five years. This involved providing casework and extensive documents as well as discussion and listening and praying to where God is leading the church and how the funding could help. The church will have to measure its progress using various indicators over the coming years.
Revd Sera Rumble, Vicar of St Denys, said, “The funding gives us the opportunity to step out and grow and build on what God is already doing in St Denys.”
The church plans to use the funding to improve its buildings for mission and create a refreshments area and an outdoor space where people can gather. They also aim to fund a Children, Youth and Families Worker and Church Resource Manager.
The investment will also enable the church to expand its ministries to support children and young people and people within the community facing hunger, homeless and isolation and Christians who feel disillusioned and disconnected.
Revd Sera said, “The process of applying has helped us tell our story and notice things. We’ve noticed that people who are discombobulated and disillusioned in their faith seem to have a resonance at St Denys. We have noticed that the number 20 bus route seems to be our mission field, and we have noticed multi-generational relationships between children and adults are what weave things together, but we need help to bring it to the next level.
“The process has helped us notice what we are called to be, to notice who we are and trust in that and God’s work through it.”
One of the examples of that growth is the church’s Community Food Project. On Friday mornings, people begin queuing outside St Denys Church long before the doors open at 8:30am. Hot drinks are served from 9am and free food is distributed from 11:30. Food is collected from surplus stock from local supermarkets and stores by volunteers from the local community, which helps reduce food waste.
But aside from the food, the project provides a place where people can play games, chat and find friendship. Around 60 households now receive support each week, the number has grown in the last year with the cost of living.
Revd Paul Lambert, Curate of St Denys, said, “As a church, we’re able to say that we’re open and here for the vulnerable within our community. It’s an opportunity to engage in relationships, share our compassion and love of God’s people in a way that’s able to be received and heard by those who are coming.
“The group is able to own the project for themselves. From initially coming to collect food, they can then become a volunteer, and it gives people a boost. They come in, set up the tables, sort out the food from our freezers and storage areas and underpinning it all is that sense of relationship and people growing together.”
James first came to collect food and now volunteers in the kitchen. He said, “I came to see what church was about, but I wasn’t too sure. Then I saw the vicar and she made me feel welcome. Now I’m part of the furniture! There’s a good bunch of people here. We’re all different characters but we talk and listen to each other and that helps us deal with what we’re going through. You can be yourself and if you slip up and swear, it doesn’t matter. We support each other.”
Betty found the group after losing her husband of 40 years. She said, “My life was so empty and then somebody introduced me to this group. I was worried about coming and meeting new people but I’m so glad I did. Everyone is so friendly and we share our problems. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
The same emphasis on belonging and community can be found at ‘Kettles On’, a weekly gathering on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings. The Monday session is now known as ‘Beans on Toast’ thanks to the meal on offer. Running from 6 to 8pm, it’s planned to coincide with the timetable of the number 20 bus, making it easier for people to attend.
It began with two people, and now regularly attracts around twenty.
Outreach Pastor Marion Hitchens said, “We’re seen as a church out in the community. We don’t give the impression of a holy huddle behind closed doors, we are very much out there. It always interests me that people who never come to church for a service will talk about St Denys as being their church, so it’s very strongly identified in the community.”
One of those attending said, “I come with my friend and it’s good to talk, share opinions and views. It’s nice for someone to listen to you and I feel welcomed here.”
For some, the conversations have become a deeper look at faith. Each Monday evening, ‘Beans on Toast’ is followed by an Exploring Faith group, where people can ask questions and discuss faith.
Revd Paul added, “A lot of the lives are very complex, so we don’t see sudden transformation stories, but what we do see is people who come here and know they are valued and cared for, that they’ve got a place that’s safe and that they’ll be listened to. When they’re in trouble or life is difficult so often the place they come to is the church where they’ll receive help, guidance and support.”
The church also hosts a group for people who have become disillusioned with church or feel hurt by experiences within it. Revd Sera calls it an ‘invisible ministry’.
She said, “It’s not actually church on the margins so much as church for those who have been right in the heart of the action and have been hurt by it. It’s maybe church for the tender and church for the worn out. They find themselves on the margins because they’re hiding there because they’ve been in the middle of the action.”
The group offers a space where people can speak honestly and openly about their experiences, ask questions and support one another.
Revd Paul continued, “Often it can come out of a period of trauma or difficulty that they’ve struggled with and a need to reconcile that with their understanding of faith in the past. It’s a real privilege as people share where they’re at and some of the difficulties that they’ve journeyed with. The group is there not to provide answers but maybe together to find ways of supporting, listening and encouraging each other to walk what might feel like a lonely and dark period in their faith together.”
As St Denys looks to the future, the DIP funding represents an opportunity to strengthen ministries that are already making a difference in the community and encourage more people to find friendship, support and faith.
National funding has previously been awarded to Lords Hill, St. Andrews, Charminster, Townsend Estate and St. Clements as part of the Parish Revitalisation and Renewal Partnership Projects as well as supporting the Growing Rural Parishes Project. By the end of 2025, the first four project churches had seen a combined growth in their average weekly attendance of over 180 people, an increase of nearly 90% since the start of the project.
At St Denys, people have reacted with excitement, encouragement, and a strong sense that God has a plan.
Revd Paul concluded, “It’s a real blessing to have this opportunity and we’re aware of the sense of responsibility that comes with it. It’s been great to have the whole church support and back the application for the grant and now having received it, they’re inspired and encouraged to see how we can all work together.
“It’s certainly an opportunity for us to be able to explore and see what God is going to do in our community and in our church.”
