|PIC1|Members of Muswell Hill Churches (MHC) in London are launching 'Back to Church Sunday' locally on 28 September as part of a nationwide initiative that has proved successful in other parts of the country as churches reach out to people who do not come regularly.

The concept is simple: to invite people to see what happens in a local church and realise how relevant this can be to them and the community.

On 14 September, the Community Festival at Cherry Tree Woods will include an MHC stall with literature and hundreds of orange coloured balloons for children. Members of MHC also are distributing leaflets to 11,500 homes giving times of services and contact details for all the churches.

Muswell Hill Baptist Church has been preparing in both creative and practical ways, stimulating interest with means ranging from puppetry to prayer postcards.

On Back to Church Sunday, Muswell Hill Baptist Church will have their regular morning service starting at 10:30am with a warm welcome to people joining in who do not usually come and a sermon taken from their Life Issues series, on 'Friendship'.

The Rev Andrew Picton explains, "We are dealing with life issues because our church
sees our biblical faith as relevant to life with all its complex issues. In this case, we'll be considering friendship versus loneliness and, ultimately, friendship with God."

Muswell Hill Baptist Church aims to be inclusive and parts of the service are geared to children and young people. The vibrant music blends contemporary with some traditional favourites.

Recently during the service the congregation has been learning sign language for songs.