Here's what we heard — August 2026

Our standing question, "Tell us about digital and the Methodist Church," has now had 130 responses since we opened it in May. Three of those came in during August.

What we heard

They covered ground the listening keeps returning to. The worry we hear most often is that moving things online leaves some people further out rather than further in — older members, rural churches, and anyone who was never confident with this in the first place. Close behind it is a request rather than a worry: practical help for the people doing this locally, which means templates, training, and somebody to ask when it goes wrong.

Neither of those is new, and that is rather the point. Both are set out in the listening report, both have been there since we started asking, and both are shaping the design work now.

What we've done

Design work is now under way, building on everything the discovery phase heard. The discovery phase closed at the end of July, seventeen of the twenty-three districts having had a conversation at Chair level, with the full record public.

The question stays open

If you have something to say about digital and the Methodist Church, the question is always open.

We publish one of these notes every month.

The Digital Transformation Programme reads every response and publishes a "Here's what we heard" post at the end of every month.