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Alton is a picture postcard village in the Staffordshire Moorlands, famous for the theme park just up the road, and just on the fringes of the Staffordshire Peak District.

The villagers are served by three churches; St Peter’s, St John’s and the Methodist chapel.
The Anglican parish is 'Alton with Bradley', comprising St Peter’s and the smaller St Leonard’s, which is in the hamlet of Bradley just over a mile away.

'A Country Parish' will be written up here on the web month by month through 2008 with photos, interactive comments and audio interviews.
And... please leave your thoughts and comments on the messageboard. See the link for that on the right-hand side of this page.

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April '08 - Part 2 of 'A Country Parish'

April…..the village woke up to snow, the traffic going to Alton Towers is building.
And, where have the church mice gone?

Alton was also chosen to host a day of support for rural congregations from across Staffordshire.
Eight out of the 11 deaneries were represented and almost 100 delegates packed into the village hall. Bishop Gordon from Stafford came along and children from Fulford played at the communion service.
The conference heard there are some tough challenges facing those who live and work in the countryside over the next few years - ageing populations, closing schools, fewer jobs.
There was also news about the 'Back to Church Sunday' campaign with a warning that churches need to be more welcoming if they want people to attend.

Listen to the interviews

º Archdeacon Godfrey Stone explains why rural congregations need a get together
º Agricultural chaplain Nick Read explains some of the challenges facing the countryside
º Rural Pries David Nichol talks about his job
º Peter Whalley, Chaplain to the Bishop of Lichfield, on Back to Church Sunday
º George Fisher, director of parish mission on why churches need to be friendly