Thousands of people marched in Swindon on Saturday in a desperate bid to convince Honda to change its mind about closing its car manufacturing plant in the town. 

Among them was the Suffragan Bishop of Swindon, the Rt Rev Lee Rayfield, who said it was important for him to be there to stand with the local people in their time of mourning. 

The closure, announced by Honda last month, has been a "body blow" for the town, which is now facing a "catastrophic employment crisis", he says.  Some 3,500 jobs at the plant are set to go, but with so many local businesses being tied to it in some way - from suppliers to cafes and hotels - thousands more stand to be affected. 

Not surprisingly, the news has been "really traumatic" for the many Honda workers facing job loss and the prospect of having to seek new work, possibly outside the town. 

But it's not only businesses that will be affected; churches will be too as many congregations have Honda workers in their midst. 

Some churches will be "quite seriously affected", the bishop said, as they stand to lose members who need to look for work elsewhere. 

In spite of that, local churches are rallying together to do what they can to support the town.

"There is a real desire in all the churches to serve the whole of Swindon and not just the people in their congregations at this time of crisis," he said. 

"It was very important for me to be there this morning because the church is there to serve and to bring hope - but also to mourn. We need to mourn and lament together with people. We need to have reality as well as the hope." 

Practical help is an important part of giving people that hope, the bishop stressed. 

Many individuals and local businesses are offering help, and the church too is doing what it can by making its buildings available for the support groups that will be working with Honda workers to help them brush up their CVs and look for new jobs.

Despite the scale of the loss and the challenges that lie ahead, Bishop Rayfield has faith in the town to pull through together.  It's something the people had to do when train manufacturing ended in the 80s.  They embraced new technology and were also able to "embrace change and make it work" in that moment of crisis, he says. 

"We have come through that big closure before. It doesn't mean it will be easy to do it again but the fact that the town was able to come through that is a sign of hope," he said.

An important part of the church's work going forward is to help the town find a new vision.  In that sense, he believes there could even be an "opportunity" in the midst of the crisis for the community to become closer and dream bigger for the town's future. 

"Honda's motto is 'the power of dreams'. What we are seeing is people's dreams turning into a bad dream - dreams evaporating and the thing that has supported people's entire lives now going," he said.

"What we need to do is to help people dream again - but bigger, deeper and richer than the dream of just getting another industrial king in.

"This could be a catalyst for us thinking differently and deeper about how we can build on the community life of our town to care more for each other and how we can lead in being a more equal town.

"There is an opportunity to be better neighbours and deepen our sense of belonging, to be there for those whose dreams have taken a beating, and to think about how we can provide the kind of family that Honda tried to create with its workers."

He added: "We pray, but we also need to do the practical."