A church choir is making connections with the community.
St Alban Choir, based at The Church in Westbury Park, currently sees 30 children and adults singing in at least one service every week.
The choir, which is made up of people from the local community, also performs in concerts and takes part in a tour every two years
And its not just adults who are joining the fun; children able to join the junior choir from the age of three, and the main choir from seven.
Although the choir is completely unauditioned, it tackles some very serious repertoire under its Director of Music, Edward Davies, who is also Head of Music at St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School.On March 25 they will be performing the premiere of Raymond Warrens Passion (were you there?) at 6.30pm at St Albans.
Alongside its singing, the choir also finds time for socials - from trips to the panto and theme parks to a choir sleepover in the church. One of its next performances away from Bristol will be singing Evensong at Llandaff Cathedral on Easter Monday.
Revd Emma Langley, vicar at The Church in Westbury Park, said that the open door nature of the choir acted as a gateway into the life of the church.
The choir is probably our most successful outreach activity, she said. People come into relationship with us because either they or their children want to sing.
As they come to belong to our church family, so they also come to faith. Our largest number of confirmation candidates always come from the choir.
What next?
What activities can you put on that would encourage non-Christians into the church? Think about what appeals to people in your area (such as choir, reading group, dance lessons) and incorporate them into the life of the church.
Look at whether there are any barriers to the groups you run. Could you find ways of making them more inclusive?