Seeing Ourselves as Others See Us: Perceptions of the Church of England

In summer 2020 Stephen Hance was asked to undertake some research on how the Church of England is perceived in wider society to feed into the process of creating a vision and strategy for the 2020s. He did this by means of a review of recent research, a review of all the Church’s media coverage over past 18 months, and 5 round table conversations. The results were consistent, clear, and to some extent unexpected. In this session Stephen will explore the four key findings from his research, and their implications for our mission.

Stephen Hance co-leads on support for churches and networks in the Church of England’s Vision and Strategy team. He has served as a cathedral dean, a diocesan missioner, and a parish priest. His most recent publication is the course Everyday Witness, available from Church House Publishing. The book on which today’s session is based can be purchased in advance here: https://grovebooks.co.uk/collections/evangelism/products/mev-135-seeing-ourselves-as-others-see-us-perceptions-of-the-church-of-england