24th June 2026

Working in partnership to light up new generations together

St Luke’s Church in Blackburn, a key part of the ongoing ‘Lighting Up New Generations’ project in The Church of England in Lancashire held a special lunch today for key stakeholders and community leaders.  

Lighting Up New Generations is Blackburn Diocese’s major renewal programme, focused on enabling churches to connect with children, young people and families in new and sustainable ways.

Backed by significant national Church of England investment, the aim is to grow younger and more diverse congregations, planting new worshipping communities, strengthening discipleship and equipping leaders to share the gospel with a rising generation across Lancashire.

The event today gave many stakeholders the chance to air their views on what's happening in central Blackburn; hear what St Luke’s is doing and explore how they can all work together to strengthen local partnerships for the good of the area the parish serves.

There was a great buzz in the church as discussions between the highly engaged partners took place. Those present also heard from volunteers from the church about the work they do there day to day to support people in a huge number of ways. 

More pictures and coverage on the Diocesan Facebook page here. 

Partners represented included Blackburn with Darwen Council and their public health team; Spark Drug and Alcohol support; Streetlight UK; Healthwatch Blackburn and Darwen; New Ground Housing; Christians Against Poverty; Tesco; Blackburn with Darwen Family Hub; Asda and many more.

St Luke’s in Blackburn is committed to being a beacon of hope, helping people journey into faith and freedom in an area which is one of the most disadvantaged, not just in Lancashire but the entire country. 

Rev Jason Gardner from St Lukes commented: “Today has been a really important moment for us at St Luke’s, bringing together people who care deeply about the future of this community.

“We are committed to walking alongside our neighbours, especially children, young people and families, sharing hope in very practical ways and building partnerships that can make a lasting difference.

“Lighting Up New Generations is about more than church growth, it’s about seeing lives changed and this part of Blackburn flourish.”

Following the success of today’s event, St Luke’s hopes to hold more stakeholder engagement events in the future.

Captions for the above photos:
Pictures by Ronnie Semley for Blackburn Diocese

1. Key partners for St Luke’s in Blackburn stand together at the close of the event with St Luke’s Church leaders, Rev Jason Gardner (fifth from right front row) and Rachel Gardner (second left, front row)
2. The scene in St Luke’s as the partnership event gets underway