Welcome to St John the Evangelist, Thornham.
St John’s is a family-friendly church community in the semi-rural suburbs of North Manchester.
We are an Anglican Church that it is alive in faith and actions.
We are a broad mix of age groups with people from the local and neighbouring communities.
Whether you are just visiting or looking for a place to call ‘home’ you can be sure of a warm welcome, we look forward to meeting you.
Our Vision
To offer worship and witness that honours God, inspires the faithful, engages enquirers and attracts new comers.
Our Services Every Sunday
10:30am in St Johns Church
Sharing Full Communion
Our PCC met and discussed a proposed change in how we share communion and it was decided that we would end the restriction on sharing wine at the next Communion Service.
Wine will be offered from a shared Communion cup. If you do not wish to take wine from a shared cup then please feel free to continue to take the bread only or to receive a blessing instead.
Please note that taking Communion in one form (either bread or wine) is still considered to be taking complete Communion.
Results of our Survey
As part of our development, members of St Johns Thornham Church aim to develop a 1/2-acre wildflower area (which is currently overgrown waste ground) with pushchair and wheelchair access; creating a habitat for birds, owls, bats & hedgehogs, with the help of children to support their education and well-being. The development of the church grounds will afford a much needed area of natural beauty, providing a place for peace, quiet and and opportunity for reflection whilst improving the environment and wildlife habitat. A place for both human and animal well-being, which will be sustainable and continue to improve with time.
To do this, we aim to improve the path to the church, lay a walking trail for all ages and abilities in the church grounds, together with noticeboards to explain our local industrial history environmental points of interest and prayer walk.
We value your opinion on how the grounds and surrounding areas should be developed.
Detailed Responses
We have held an online survey which was sent to over sixty families of attendees at St Johns School, the same online survey has been promoted throughout the village. We have spoken to people from the local community and posted paper copies of our questionnaire to a number of households in the immediate area, including attending coffee mornings at the Village Hall.
Responses to our questions, based on a reply from 83 respondents as at 09/10/22:
| Need to improve the area for the wellbeing of all | Strongly Agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 44% | 37% | 14% | 4% | 1% |
| Lay a path through the grounds to aid wellbeing and disability access | Strongly Agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 82% | 16% | 1% | 1% |
| Develop a wildflower area | Strongly Agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 59% | 20% | 10% | 11% |
| Improve the habitat for the wildlife | Strongly Agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 80% | 8% | 11% | 1% |
| Improve the path from Church Avenue to the Lichgate | Strongly Agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 70% | 24% | 2% | 4% |
| Give access from the proposed development of houses to the church | Strongly agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 43% | 24% | 18% | 2% | 13% |
| Give historical and wildlife information relating to the local area | Strongly agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 71% | 24% | 4% | 1% |
| A place for Forest School to utilize, which will assist learning and the well-being of children | Strongly agree | Agree | No Comment | Disagree | Strongly Disagree |
| 97% | 2% | 1% |
We also asked the question – Is there a more pressing concern in the immediate area or other comments – with a number of responses as follows:
The unnecessary housing development which will destroy Greenbelt and harm wildlife as per the objections already raised should not be considered.
Oppose the building of new houses.
Concentrate on the community, be more welcoming, leave the church as it is for people to visit the graveyard and not a battle with children using it as a play area.
The impact of the development will be devastating.
Reduce traffic to ensure children can have clean air and beautiful countryside, not lots of built-up areas.
Any improvement to the local area will be appreciated.
Tidy Litter.
Lights to make area safer.
Please provide final data.
Improve the road surface on Thornham Lane to make easier vehicular access to church (and school).
Provide food and shelter for the homeless.
Provide food for those struggling (weekly foodbank).
Ask local supermarkets for donations to feed the needy.
If we improve access to the church there is a need to improve disability facilities inside the building.
Develop the building to include a disabled toilet, so that a wide range of groups can use it.
Use the church for mother & toddler groups, needed in the area before preschool.
I believe a playground, with equipment suitable for children & young people of varying abilities, up to the age of 12 years would be a valuable asset to the community. Such an addition to the community would provide much needed recreational space for young people and their families helping to relieve isolation and loneliness.
A leader plus team will be needed to maintain the area.
Any chance of a parking area on the new estate where a path will lead into the church grounds?
Can’t wait to see the end product.
Looks like a good idea.
I strongly support these plans which will benefit the local community.
We would like to answer the concerns raised, where we can:
The results of the well-being questionnaire have helped our thinking as we plan for the future.
If the housing development goes ahead, we see that we need to be ready for the impact it will bring.
As a church we have limited funds and aim to improve facilities in the coming years enabling St John’s Church to reach out to the community. We need disability toilets, meeting rooms and improved storage to enable us to do this and through our own development enable the building to be used by differing groups in the years to come.
We have petitioned over the years, including this year, to have Thornham Lane made up, enabling cars to reach St John’s school and the church more easily. However, as this is an unadopted road the council are unable to act.
Currently, we are looking for funding to achieve the first phase in developing the grounds and path from Church Avenue.
We are in discussions with a charity Groundworks who may be able to help develop our grounds and with local volunteers help us to maintain the grounds for a period of time.
We thank everyone for their contribution in answering our Well-Being Questionnaire.