Centenary

In anticipation of our Centenary, Bournville Parish Church commissioned Catherine Pinnock to design and create a new stained-glass window to complement the Peace Window she designed in 2005.

We wanted as many people as possible from our local community to be involved in this project to help inspire the final design. Over 2000 local residents were involved in this project.

The window was dedicated by the Bishop of Birmingham on Sunday 5 October as we celebrated St Francis Day, and we exhibited all of the art work that the community had created as part of the journey.

Catherine organised several community workshops throughout the spring and summer of 2024 in the church. These were attended by over 400 people of all ages who had a great time creating design ideas with paint, collage and mixed media.

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You can learn more about our stained-glass artist, Catherine Pinnock, here
http://www.englishstainedglass.co.uk/profile.htm

This commission has been made possible by the Westhill Endowment, the Laurence James Cadbury Trust and local donations for which we are very thankful.

In 2025, it was our delight to host our stained-glass artist, Catherine Pinnock’s workshop based on her stunning installation ‘Art & Soul’.

Catherine gifted this installation to the Westhill Endowment, https://www.westhillendowment.org/ and it began its tour of venues with us! Within this interactive installation, there were 12 paintings to choose from, and viewers are asked to ponder the questions:

• How do I feel today?
• How do I react to life?
• What it’s the colour of my soul?

It was a pleasure to engage with Catherine’s art in this way and has planted a seed for future thinking about how we at Bournville Parish Church, St Francis of Assisi utilise creative art in our worship.

As part of our Centenary Celebrations, we have loved sharing our beautiful church as a venue for local art, music, drama, and dance groups, and helping these immensely talented people bring joy to our community through performance of their art.

The musical Ocean World by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon detailed the journey of a mother whale and her calf. Ocean World was originally shown on Channel 4's Fragile Earth series and narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

This moving story depicted the intricate beauty of our vast oceans, whilst conveying timely warnings about the devastating impact of coral mining, whaling ships, commercial fishing, oil spillages, and domestic, industrial, and nuclear waste.

With outstanding performances from our choirs and orchestra, as well as fully inclusive Music and Art workshops enjoyed by the local community, Ocean World was a centenary celebration to be proud of!

Learn more about caring for our oceans.

We are thankful to Stirchley Neighbourhood Network Scheme for sponsoring this event. Neighbourhood Network Scheme | Birmingham City Council

For the centenary of our church, dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, a group has created a new play about him with original music.  Our attempt is to describe the real, young, energetic man behind the popular plaster saint covered in birds.  We tell, as much as possible in his own words, of his dramatic renunciation of earlier life and family and his embracing poverty as a positive central virtue enabling him to live closely with the marginalised and rejected, to travel in order to confront and try to persuade those involved in war between Christian and Muslim, to see God Creator in all things and to offer worship in every aspect of living.  He founded Orders for men and women to live in poverty in the world and for others, living ordinary, secular lives who are called to follow his example.

As part of our Centenary Celebrations, we commissioned the brilliant Joe Warbrick, to design and craft a new nave altar for our church. Joe writes, “Storytelling is key to my furniture-making. Firstly, there is the story of the tree, from which the timber comes, then the story of the person or community behind the commission, the story of the making of the piece of furniture, then how the piece goes on to tell its own story as it absorbs layers of meaning from the place it stands and the people who use it.”

It was a wonderful moment in our Centenary year to have Bishop James Langstaff dedicate this magnificent altar, which will remain part of the legacy of our church for years to come.

Find out more by downloading An altar for st Francis by Joe warbrick.

If you would like to find out more about the incredible work of Joe Warbrick explore the following links:

• Joe Warbrick on Instagram
• Joe Warbrick on MyBuilder

In 2023, the Inclusion and Engagement Group at St Francis suggested to our PCC that we consider planting a community orchard on the green spaces around our church. This chimes well, both with the work that has been done over many years on our beautiful garden and having recently being given a Silver A-Rocha Eco-Church award.

It also resonates with our Centenary year aspirations of being ‘Community Focussed’ and seeking more opportunities to care for the ‘Environment’.

Unlike most factory owners of the time, unmoved by the poor working and living conditions of their employees, the Cadbury brothers were different. In building Bournville, George and Richard Cadbury set out to give people a better quality of life. This village became a blue-print for other model villagers in Britain. Many have credited it with laying the foundations for the development of garden cities and introducing the benefits of open space into modern town planning.

With careful thought to our environmental legacy, the people of Bournville will join together in November 2025 to plant this small community orchard outside our church, inviting individuals, families, groups, or organisations to join us in sponsoring a tree.

You can learn more about Fruit and Nut Village who have providing invaluable support and guidance throughout this project through the Fruit and Nut Village website.

As an inclusive church, we are committed to celebrating diversity in all its forms, and strive to welcome people of all backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, neurodiversities, and disabilities.

We try to understand a sense of responsibility we share to explore ways in which we could mirror God’s unconditional love for all as an essential part of our church life, worship and ministry. Learn more about our different types of worship.

Our Inclusion Group focuses on listening to, supporting, and understanding our parishioners, while pursuing practices that enable greater accessibility for everyone. If you would like to ask any questions or find out more about, you can contact us.

We are proud to be part of Inclusive Church and the work that they do. You can learn more about Inclusive Church and their mission statement on the Inclusive Church website.

A real delight in our Centenary Celebrations was Bournville Heritage Open Day.

Highlights of this  day of celebrations included  the much anticipated unveiling of our new stained glass window design, our beautifully illustrated Centenary Commemorative book, a glorious chocolate model of the church, crafted by Cadbury chocolatiers,

… a live steam floor-level railway layout showcasing a miniature Bournville Village, the incredible Acquisitions and Secrets Exhibition, featuring rare archival images and revealing untold stories about the church's past, a fantastic vintage car display, a decade-by-decade collection of wedding photographs, reflections from Bournville’s youth on life in the village, a community-wide survey exploring Bournville’s evolving identity, and, of course, delicious food and drink!

Bournville Heritage Open Day was the perfect way to rejoice in the rich past and vibrant future of Bournville Parish Church, St Francis of Assisi, and the wonderful community around us!

Learn more about Heritage Open Days.