The Duchess of York hears about the importance of our churches and church schools; their partnership working and praises the ‘incredible cohesiveness’ in the town of Burnley in a new video discussion, released today, following her visit earlier this week.  

The Duchess does so in the company of Diocesan Bishop, Rt Rev Philip North and Fr Alex Frost from St Matthew’s in Burnley; the church which was at the epicentre of a full day the Duchess spent in the town. 

The Duchess discusses the background to her visit and her connection to the town which has its roots in the pandemic. That’s when Fr Alex of St Matthew’s Church in Burnley reached out for support for the Burnley community.

Sarah’s Trust (and the Duchess personally) responded in a variety of ways. In the video, the Duchess says: “During the pandemic I called Fr Alex up and say ‘can we help you, what do you need’ and then we delivered 500 parcels. I also said that one day I would be there (in person) and today is that day. I think that keeping a promise is a major thing!” 

The Duchess adds: “(There is) an incredible cohesiveness after all you have been through – everybody together to make change.”  

Bishop Philip says: “The Duchess being here to highlight all that goes on in our churches and schools and in interfaith work and with our other amazing partnerships we have in this town is just the most wonderful affirmation of and encouragement of that work as we strive for an ever more cohesive town.” 

As well as the food parcels, the Duchess has also supported the church and community with clothes and Christmas presents and has continued to stay in touch, helping hundreds in the town. Recently she even organised for a Christmas pantomime outing take Place for 60+ children. 

Fr Alex then reflects on the importance of having the Duchess to visit and to turn a spotlight on the work of the church: “To see the joy the Duchess has brought to the community and to the parish and schools; as well as to our partners, such as the football club, has made it a really joyous day.  

“We have brilliant volunteers here at St Matthew’s and they give their time multiple days every week for nothing other than the kindness of their hearts and to demonstrate to our community that we can get through the difficult times by being generous and loving to one another.” 

You can meet a few of those people talking about the work they do to support the school in a series of video interviews on Facebook here.  

During her day in Burnley the Duchess got the chance to see first hand the work of our amazing church schools. She visited two of them … Padiham Green Primary and Holy Trinity Primary.  

At Padiham Green CofE Primary – her first stop on the day at 8am - the Duchess was shown a huge range of activities the school uses to support and enhance the pupils’ experiences every day.  

The school choir sang for the Duchess before it was time for a trip outside to take part in ‘Forest School’ outdoor activities in the school grounds before finishing by watching a dance class led by former pupil, Jolie Forrest, 15 who also sang for the Duchess.

At Padiham Green the Duchess also met Dr James Fleming, a GP in nearby Padiham, who started 'The Green Dreams Project' in 2009. 

Ever since, Green Dreams has provided local, community-based solutions to unemployment, isolation and reduced quality of life.  In recent years, this has expanded to include the ‘Fresh Food Initiative’, a collaboration to contribute to nutrition and education of nutrition. 

More than 1.5 tonnes of food has been produced for food banks and more than 10 education providers (from nursery to University) have been supported with food growing initiatives, including Padiham Green. 

Meanwhile at Holy Trinity CofE Primary the Duchess helped lead the school assembly with Bishop Philip alongside Fr Alex and Rev Kat Gregory-Witham from St Matthew’s. The pupils sang first and then asked a series of questions of the Duchess.  

You can see much more of the Duchess’ visit to the schools – including video content and interviews – on X/Twitter @cofelancs and @BDBofE and on the Diocesan Facebook page and Board of Education Facebook page too.  

Across the day the Duchess also visited University of Central Lancashire school of medicine; Burnley Football Club; Down Town Community Kitchen and Ghausia Mosque.  

Reflecting on her time in the town, the Duchess said: “Burnley is a wonderful, tight-knit community but like many others it faces challenges including food poverty and deprivation.

It was humbling to see the work of St Matthew’s Church in action at the lunch club and I’m determined to continue to do whatever I can to help.

“And what wonderful school communities I encountered at Padiham Green and Holy Trinity Primaries. Staff and pupils could not have been more welcoming and I loved sharing some Christmas presents from my charity Sarah’s Trust. It was also an honour to meet Bishop Philip during my visit and to hear more about the brilliant work the Church is doing in schools and the broader community.”

Bishop Philip added: "When I became Diocesan Bishop in the summer I made a pledge: to strive to see the Church of England become an ever-stronger voice for justice in our County; especially for the poorest.

"Sadly, there is much social inequality in Burnley, a place which has a special place in my heart as I was previously Bishop of Burnley for many years.

"The work parishes like St Matthew's under Fr Alex does to help the people they serve is humbling. And our church schools also provide vital support and a quality education that can change young lives.

"I was delighted Sarah, Duchess of York got the chance to see how her generosity is helping the people of this wonderful town and also see how the people of Burnley are working together and helping themselves towards the better future they ALL deserve."

Archdeacon David Picken, Chair of the Diocesan Board of Education, added: "We are delighted Sarah, Duchess of York is able to visit two of our church schools during her visit to Burnley.

"Our wonderful family of schools and our ministry in inspiring children and young people lies at the very heart of everything we do as a Diocese.

"In seeking to serve Christ; share the Gospel message; support; equip and educate our church schools are at the forefront of encouraging our young people to work together to build a better and more just world."

And Fr Alex also reflected on the visit saying: "It was such a joy to welcome Sarah, Duchess of York during this time of Advent - particularly as her kindness through the generosity of her charity Sarah's Trust has supported our church and community over a number of years.

"During her visit we were pleased to offer her just a glimpse of our community work at the church and to give her the chance to visit our church schools that provide excellent education to the young people in the town.”

Captions for above:
Pictures by Clive Lawrence except for Padiham Green School (by Ronnie Semley) are all available in Dropbox here with captions (including for the two pictures above)

• Rev Kat Gregory-Witham and Bishop Philip (atleft) with the Duchess and some of the many volunteersfrom the St Matthew’s lunch club
• High fives all round from pupils from Holy Trinity Primary during assembly