Deepcut To Become the First New Parish in Surrey This Century

Published on: 2 Jan, 2025
Updated on: 4 Jan, 2025

St Barbara’s, Deepcut, closed just after the Covid pandemic. Google

The former St Barbara’s Garrison Church is set to become the heart of a newly-created parish in Deepcut. The Church of England Parish is the first to be established in the Diocese of Guildford in 25 years.

The journey to create this parish began in 2017 with the development of 1,200 homes on the site of the former Army Base. Supported by seed funding from the Diocese of Guildford, the Rev’d Daniel Natnael, along with 20 members of St Paul’s Church in Camberley saw the development of the new Mindenhurst Village as the perfect opportunity to “plant” a new church at St Barbara’s to serve the community of Deepcut.

However, when the Army closed the garrison church just after the pandemic, the church community had to get creative, initially meeting for socially distanced Sunday worship in the church carpark and then leasing halls in two local schools.

Despite not yet having a permanent church building, St Barbara’s has made themselves a hub of the community, offering outreach groups to connect people, hosting a baby and toddler group in the local care home, as well as weekly coffee mornings in the local pub, The Frog. The minister even uses the pub as his current office.

The interior of St Barbara’s. Google

The church has also been one of the first to engage with asylum seekers housed in a nearby hotel, ensuring they have access to activities, warm clothes and advice.

Becoming a parish will mean the church occupies a geographical territory within the diocese and will operate independently when it comes to governance and finances. A parish also has the legal right to perform baptisms, weddings and funerals. The establishment of this new parish bucks the national trend where almost 300 parishes closed in a five-year period between 2016-2021, although weekly church attendance is rising.

Rev’d Daniel Natnael

The Rev’d Daniel Natnael said: “This historic moment is the culmination of a long journey where we faced many obstacles including a global pandemic and complex planning challenges. Because we didn’t have a permanent church building, we had to think outside the box and look for ways to bring the church into the community.

“Our key mission has always been to be a Christ-centred, mission-shaped, visible and accessible church open to all. Jesus didn’t expect people to come to him, he went to them to preach the good news. We have an active congregation which has increased from 20 to 100 and includes people of all ages and backgrounds.

“The pandemic helped focus people’s minds on what is important, and more people are open to exploring their faith. I’m delighted that the establishment of the Deepcut Parish will bring us closer to achieving a 7-day-a-week church in the heart of the community and for the community.”

Rt Rev’d Andrew Watson

And the Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Rev’d Andrew Watson, said: “I have been so excited to see the new congregation take root in Deepcut, and to witness the gifts and diversity of the Church that is emerging under Daniel’s expert leadership. It’s somewhat unusual to create a new parish in the Church of England in the 2020s, and a testimony to the work of some passionate and outward-looking believers who are an inspiration to us all.”

St Barbara’s Community Church will return to the former St Barbara’s Garrison Church when extensive renovations are completed.