While some churches sense symptoms of revival, many more are struggling with signs of decline. Yet there is life in the old bones yet. The flesh may be weak but there is a quiet determination among some of the most senior faithful. A deep dedication and love of place and an attentiveness to the Holy Spirit is moving them to beautiful works of grace. Here, the Rev Jean Flood tells the story of some remarkable octogenarians, a school and community at the heart of Walton, the most deprived constituency in the country.
St Mary, Walton on the Hill, is a magnificent church full of local history. It is the ‘Mother Church’ of the City of Liverpool and has been the setting for innumerable baptisms, weddings and funerals over its thousand year history. Bombed by the Luftwaffe during the May Blitz of 1941, it was rebuilt from the ashes and rededicated in 1953, with the oldest remaining part being the west tower, built in the early nineteenth century. The largest of the four churches that make up Walton Team Ministry, it has never, to my knowledge, had a nativity scene in the churchyard.
Twenty years ago, I was at the beginning of my Mission in the Economy Chaplaincy to St John’s Market in Liverpool city centre. With 104 units, the Market was a part of Liverpool’s heritage, it had everything people needed. It was the go-to place for ordinary Scousers.
Once there, I was delighted to discover some beautiful nativity figures hidden away in a cage in the basement storage area. It became my mission to reinstate baby Jesus, his family and admirers, to where he could remind shoppers, traders and friends of the real meaning of Christmas.
Over the years, many visitors to the Market came to see the nativity and to leave a prayer - particularly prayers for lost loved ones and for world peace. After each Christmas the Holy Family would be sent into exile, not to Egypt, but back to their basement cage.
A couple of years ago, Liverpool City Council made the sudden decision to close the Market after years of wrangling with traders over costs and viability. There was heartbreak all round especially for regular customers who came most days for a cup of tea and the human contact they needed and deserved.
When the traders’ allotted time to collect goods and equipment came to an end, they made me aware that anything they didn’t collect was being left in a skip. Two staff members allowed me to intervene and rescue The Holy Family.
These special guests then took up residence in my loft for several months. They emerged a year later when the congregation in one of our team’s smaller churches was very pleased to host them for Christmas. They then moved to the hospitality of the larger church in the team - St Mary, Walton on the Hill - until the decision was made that they really needed to be seen. It was decided that the Family needed to be seen in a public place. They would need a more permanent shelter that was weather-proof, vandal-proof and welcoming.
This is where several elderly bright sparks from the congregation came to the rescue. Jackie Cadden and Eileen Hunter, both in their eighties, and Ann Gandy - who is 98 and can recall the Blitz - decided upon a sponsored walk. Circumnavigating the church leaning on their walking aids, they managed to accumulate over £1,000. This was enough to build a new home for the ‘Walton Nativity’.
Without any stipendiary clergy, the church warden, Brenda Nettleton, 80 years young, stepped in and did all the arranging for the building of the crib. The precious Family’s new home was to be the churchyard – where they could easily be seen by local Waltonians, schoolchildren and anyone passing by on public transport.
Despite the presence of two of the world’s most iconic football clubs – Everton FC and Liverpool FC – Walton is the most deprived constituency in the UK. Local residents live and breathe football but have also experienced tragedy. After the Southport Massacre of August 2024, there were riots on County Road, the main arterial route from the city centre through the Walton district. Spellow Library, the only remaining community asset, was destroyed by arson.
The library successfully reopened some months later after a massive community fundraising effort raised over £250,000. Showing great solidarity, local people raised donations from the public, authors, and even royalty, turning the ‘heart of the community’ from destruction back into a vital hub for learning and support and a renewed commitment to serving local residents.
Despite neighbourhood pride in the new library, negative media continued, piling further stigma on a place already struggling with poverty. But Walton people can recognise injustice when they see it and they resolved to change the narrative.
Plans emerged from Alsop High School, the main secondary school in the heart of Walton. Peter Bull, Chair of the Alsop Foundation CIO and a long term partner of Together for the Common Good, has long understood what it means for a school to be a force for the common good, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Peter asked Jimmy Mulville, a former pupil, if he would consider making a film - to tell a better story.
Jimmy, who is Managing Director of Hat Trick Productions, put a production team together and produced a documentary, Of People and Place. The film spotlights the Walton community’s creativity and resilience and features Alsop students speaking about their aspirations. The church of St Mary, Walton on the Hill, appears throughout the film, setting this resilient community – which is bringing light in the face of adversity - in its historical context.
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. John 1:46
The land on which the church stands has hosted a thousand years of Christian worship. And now, every Christmas, thanks to the determination of those wise old souls, the churchyard will be host to a new neighbourhood nativity. The mission of the Holy Family has migrated from the Market to the heart of the Walton community.
The answer to the question “Can anything good come out of Walton” is “watch this space!”
There is life in the old bones yet - in our churchyard, in our volunteers, and in our community.
God is God on the Market. God is God in the Community.
We will be better together for the common good!
The Rev Jean Flood is a non-stipendary minister in the Walton-on-the-Hill Team Ministry. She was formerly Chaplain to St Johns Market in Liverpool and Coordinator for the diocesan Mission in the Economy. MiTE is a Liverpool-based charity working alongside local businesses, churches of all denominations, town and city councils, providing chaplaincy services, work and well-being resources to businesses, public and voluntary communities around the North West.
Jenny Sinclair is Founder and Director of Together for the Common Good.