Here's what we heard — May 2026

This is the first of a monthly post where we tell you what people have been saying when they get in touch with the programme — and what we're doing about it. We read every response.

This month: 99 people replied to our open question, "Tell us about digital and the Methodist Church." They came from 21 districts across the Connexion, and 73 said they'd be happy to talk to us further. Thank you — genuinely. This is the clearest picture we've had yet of how digital feels from where you are.

What we heard

Three things came up again and again:

• It's hard to find things. More people raised the website than anything else — and the most common version of it was that searching the site doesn't surface what you need, so you end up reaching for Google instead. Several also mentioned church details being out of date on Find a Church.
• People are being left behind. The worry we heard most often wasn't about the technology itself — it was about the people who can't, or don't want to, use it. Members without broadband, those who find screens hard, and anyone for whom "online-only" means "shut out."
• Too many systems, too many logins. A lot of you would like things pulled together — one place, one login, instead of a separate system for the Online Suite, training, DBS, property, returns and the rest. "Stop making us reinvent the wheel" came through clearly.

Some of what people said

Quotes are anonymised. We've picked three across different roles.

What we've done already

We've been listening properly. Alongside this question, we've held more than 25 in-depth conversations with districts and circuits across the Connexion this spring. The picture above matches what we're hearing in the room — which gives us confidence we're hearing it right.

Online worship support is on the way. "Sharing worship on Zoom and YouTube" was one of the things people most wanted to build on. We're pulling together practical guidance on equipment, streaming and the rules around it — shaped by the 156 responses to our Online Worship survey.

We're making our own content more accessible. Our Connected podcast now has written transcripts in progress, so it can be read as well as heard — a direct response to the accessibility point several of you raised.

What we've forwarded

Some of what people sent us was better answered by someone else, or needed a human reply rather than a place in a themes list. We've made sure each of those goes to the right person — a small number of pastoral messages, a safeguarding-and-streaming question we've passed to the right team, and one or two notes about local situations routed to the relevant district. If you wrote one of these, you'll hear back directly.

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