Claire McIlroy wishes Ford SMC a happy fifth birthday!
This article was published in the January to April 2026 edition of Rapport magazine.
As we arrive in 2026, we have much to look back upon and we praise God for all that he has done through Lee Abbey’s youngest Small Missional Community in Ford, Plymouth, as we celebrate our fifth birthday.
Conceived in partnership with the Diocese of Exeter, with the specific focus of helping to establish a new congregation in St Mark’s Church, Ford, the diocese provided the house – a big old vicarage next to the church. The initial Community moved in at the beginning of 2021 and then … Covid-19 hit again – not the type of start anybody expected! However, lockdowns and restrictions provided the new Community with the gift of time – to be guided by the Spirit, to get to know each other, to pray together, to understand what living in Community might look like, what church might look like and, perhaps most importantly, to have fun together! All while supporting the local community at a distance through pop-up food banks, praying for the area and making themselves known amongst their neighbours. Margaret, the founding leader of the SMC, said: ‘It was amazing that such an unlikely group of strangers managed to form some kind of Community!’
By August 2021, restrictions were less onerous and the Community was forming strong bonds with people locally; but then tragedy struck when, just two streets away, the Plymouth shootings happened. The Community responded by being salt and light amongst their neighbours, alongside the many professionals and agencies that flooded the area. They served incarnationally by being God’s presence to the local community, offering a safe place, serving tea and being a listening ear to those who were hurting. In many ways this was an insight into the ongoing role of the Community – building a safe place, growing a church, offering hospitality to all and being a listening ear – being God’s incarnational presence.
Sharing God’s love
Despite the backdrop of the beginning, the Community trusted God to lead them, to be amongst the people of Ford and the fledgling church started to grow. Incarnational mission has been the backbone since the beginning and indeed is a hallmark of Lee Abbey SMCs. It’s by living alongside a local community, responding with God’s love to whatever their current need is, that Community members communicate the love of Christ as they build up, and make relationships with, those around them. It’s a practical outworking of Lee Abbey’s mission: to ‘communicate Christ through relationships’; and in the Diocese of Exeter, to serve the people of Devon with joy.
The restrictions in place during the first Christmas meant that gatherings indoors were limited, so the Community held its first carol service in the church car park; over 40 local people came to hear the joy-filled message of Jesus’ birth. Of course, ups and downs have followed, but we have been witnesses to God’s presence and faithfulness through it all.
During those first three years, Jonny, Margaret and other local church leaders dedicated time to prayer walking in Ford each week, and growth happened – in neighbouring congregations too – a clear sign Jesus was on the move in this forgotten corner of Plymouth.
Margaret recalls that they always felt that children would be a key part of building the church from scratch. One neighbour had said to Jonny: ‘Involve the children and the rest will follow.’ Praise God, this is exactly how it happened! A connection with the local Beaver group led to the first regular church member, and today 1/3 of the church are under 18! God moved in miraculous ways in that first year of the church: REAL (Messy Church at St Mark’s) grew fourfold between the first Easter and the next!
Four years on, St Mark’s Church has come a long way from those fragile beginnings. Thanks to the dedication of the SMC Community, alongside the hard work of Rev Jonny, there is now a flourishing Anglican church community reaching out into Ford with Christ’s love. Psalm 126 was close to the Community’s heart in those early days: ‘Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.’
Joy in the journey of church growth
Margaret said, ‘For a long time I couldn’t see where the joy was, but it did come. The joy of a growing church, fun together with the children and youth, people slowly growing in faith, new initiatives and so on … the fruit of sowing in tears.’
The church community has grown from strength to strength, year by year. Apart from Sunday services, there is now On your Marks (a midweek toddler group), a youth group and a box-fit group; that means our service to the local families reaches far and wide, with many becoming more interested in faith as a result. We also have a ladies’ prayer gathering, a craft group and homegroup. All are, at least in part, enabled by the SMC Community members – an amazing testament to God at work within the neighbourhood! What joy!
It is truly by God’s grace and his faithfulness that the fledgling church has become a beacon of hope to the people of Ford, offering hope in all its fullness. As the SMC and church community continue to be salt and light in the area through the unpredictability of everyday life, we thank God for all those connections made over the years, the seeds sown and the first fruits that we have seen. We pray that this is only the beginning of a continued movement of the Holy Spirit at work in this part of Plymouth.
We give God thanks for all the SMC Community members over the last five years: initially Margaret, Jonny, Dawn and Simon; then Joe, Keren and Nadine along with family members, Sarah, Sammy, Israel and Isaac. Each one offers themself in God’s service, bringing their own unique gifts as they share the love of Jesus with the people of Ford.
Over the last two years, building on the foundations of the original Community, the Riches family has played a large role, with their faithful constant underpinning of prayer and service to the church; this has helped strengthen St Mark’s into the loving church family it now is.
Abundant provision
We give thanks that the Community has seen abundant blessings in many forms – from God’s provision of the house, local jobs and work to enable Community members to engage with meaningful work outside St Mark’s Church; lifelong friendships have been forged, faith has been stretched and grown, prayer lives have deepened, there have been miracles of provision and doors opening for visa applications and flights. We have even had the blessing and joy of celebrating two weddings of Community members: Simon (to Lydia) and Keren (to Alex).
We especially give thanks to God for the dedication and calling of Rev Jonny, who led the planting of St Mark’s Church over its initial five years. By the time you read this, Jonny will have passed the reins over to the next leader as he moves on to a new post in Coventry. We will miss him massively, but we bless and release him into his next adventure with Jesus, as we wait to see what God will do next here in Plymouth. At the same time, the initial five years’ commitment and partnership with Exeter diocese has now passed, and thus the future of Ford SMC is up for review. We seek and pray for God’s guidance and discernment going forward; we ask that you join us in this, whilst we praise and thank God for his faithfulness.
We do know that the work of the Spirit will continue, through the people of St Mark’s Church overflowing with God’s love into the community, nurturing and reaping the many, many seeds that have been sown so far. As Jesus said, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few’ (Matt. 9:37). If you, or someone you know, might be interested in inner-city estate mission and Community life, please contact Andy Wooding Jones, Chair of Lee Abbey SMCs, as we are seeking new members called to Community living, to bring in God’s harvest.
Rev Claire McIlroy
Chair, Ford SMC Local Support Group, SMC board member