St Michael's Church

What St Michael's Church does

St Michael and All Angels Church, Hoole (legal name) is a Church of England parish church in Much Hoole, Preston, Lancashire, operating under the Diocese of Blackburn as a UK registered charity. The parish traces worship in Hoole to the 11th century, with the current Nave built in 1628 and the church designated as the parish church of Hoole since 1641. It is historically notable for its connection to Jeremiah Horrocks, the first observer of a Transit of Venus, commemorated through the Horrocks Chapel created by Reverend Robert Brickel (Rector 1848–1881).

The church delivers a portfolio of in-person services and community programmes. Core Sunday worship includes a 9:00am traditional Holy Communion and a 10:30am Morning Worship / Parish Communion, alongside a monthly Family Church at The Venue in Much Hoole Village Hall and a Children's Church programme for ages 0–11 run during services in the Platinum Jubilee Lodge, a purpose-built accessible facility opened 18 September 2022. Life-cycle services (baptisms, weddings, funerals), pastoral support, and recurring community groups (Little Angels toddler group, Ladies Group, Mens Group, Bereavement Group, Flower Group) extend the offering. Communications run through the church website (built on the Church Edit platform), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter/X, and a bimonthly print and PDF Parish Magazine edited by Adina Jensen.

The business model is entirely donation-based with no pricing structure for services. Funding derives from voluntary giving by members and visitors through yellow envelopes, card reader payments in the Lodge, BACS transfers, JustGiving online donations, and an easyfundraising affiliate channel that generates passive contributions from online shopping at over 4,000 partner retailers. The church has no parent company, no external investment, and operates as an independent parish charity. Leadership was restructured on 1 February with the licensing of Revd Sam Crossley as Priest in Charge and Revd Mandy Hughes MBE as Curate in Charge, the latter responsible for day-to-day parish operations through her curacy ending June 2026.

Name

St Michael's Church

Legal name

St Michael and All Angels Church, Hoole

Website

https://hooleparishchurch.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St Michael's Church is a Church of England parish church in Much Hoole, Preston, serving the local Hoole and Much Hoole community with Sunday worship, Children's Church, life-cycle services, and community groups. It is a UK registered charity funded entirely by donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Parish church services
• Christian worship services
• Community faith programmes
• Pastoral lifecycle services
• Religious charity

Headquarters

HQ city

Much Hoole, Preston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Gifts: The church is entirely funded by donations and gifts from church members and visitors. Giving methods include yellow envelopes placed in church, card reader payments in the Lodge, BACS transfers (contact treasurer for details), and online giving via JustGiving page.
2. Easyfundraising: The church is registered with easyfundraising, which enables supporters to make free donations when shopping online with over 4,000 retailers including eBay, M&S, John Lewis, Argos, ASOS, Booking.com. Retailers make small donations to the church at no cost to the shopper.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

St Michael's Church is a Church of England parish church in Hoole, Preston, delivering weekly Sunday worship services (Traditional Holy Communion and Morning Worship/Parish Communion), a dedicated Children's Church programme for ages 0-11, a monthly Family Church, and pastoral lifecycle services including baptisms, weddings, and funerals. The church supplements these services with community fellowship groups (Little Angels toddler group, Ladies, Mens, Bereavement, and Flower Groups) and a bimonthly Parish Magazine, operating entirely on donations from members and supporters.

Product overview

St Michael's Church, Hoole is a Church of England parish church offering a portfolio of worship services and community programmes. Core Sunday worship includes traditional Holy Communion at 9:00am and Morning Worship at 10:30am, alongside monthly Family Church and dedicated Children's Church for ages 0-11. The church operates Little Angels toddler group and various community groups (Ladies, Mens, Bereavement, Flower). Life-cycle services cover baptisms, weddings, and funerals. The church publishes a bimonthly Parish Magazine and maintains an online photo gallery. The Platinum Jubilee Lodge serves as a purpose-built community facility. Donations are facilitated through JustGiving and easyfundraising platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traditional Holy Communion Service Weekly Sunday 9:00am said service of Holy Communion following the Book of Common Prayer, offered to local congregation members and visitors seeking traditional Anglican worship.
• Morning Worship / Parish Communion Service Sunday 10:30am service combining contemporary Morning Worship with clear Bible teaching, music, hymns, and a relaxed atmosphere, including Parish Communion on certain Sundays. Designed for adults and families in the Hoole and Much Hoole parish.
• Children's Church Dedicated Sunday morning programme for children aged 0-11 held during the 10:30am service in The Lodge, organised into three age groups (0-3, 3-7, 7-11) featuring Bible stories, games, crafts, songs, and activities led by the Children and Young People's Minister.
• Family Church Monthly interactive 45-minute themed family worship service held at 3:45pm at The Venue, Much Hoole Village Hall, designed for families with fun and thoughtful faith-based activities (e.g., Pancake Church, Lego Church).
• Little Angels Baby and Toddler Group Weekly baby and toddler group meeting Wednesday mornings during term time from 9:30-11:30 in The Lodge, providing community fellowship for parents and carers of pre-school children.
• Baptisms Christian initiation service offered to individuals and families seeking baptism, with pastoral preparation provided by the clergy.
• Weddings Wedding ceremony services at St Michael & All Angels Church with pastoral marriage preparation support.
• Funerals Funeral services providing pastoral care and remembrance for loved ones, officiated by the clergy of St Michael's Church.
• Community Fellowship Groups Portfolio of fellowship and support groups including Ladies Group (monthly talks and fundraising), Mens Group (monthly social meetings), Bereavement Group (monthly support meetings), and Flower Group (weekly church decoration), serving adults in the parish.
• Parish Magazine Bimonthly parish magazine edited and designed by Adina Jensen, featuring church news, articles, and community updates, published in print and as PDF downloads on the church website.
• The Platinum Jubilee Lodge Purpose-built community facility adjacent to the church, fully wheelchair accessible, used for Children's Church, Little Angels toddler group, bereavement support meetings, and post-service refreshments.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• easyfundraisingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSt Michael's Church is registered with easyfundraising, a UK online fundraising platform that enables supporters to raise free donations when shopping online with over 4,000 retailers. This partnership helps generate passive donations for the church without cost to supporters.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• JustGiving: JustGiving is the donation platform integrated with St Michael's to accept online gifts. As a fundraising infrastructure provider, it is an ecosystem partner enabling the church's donation-based revenue model rather than a direct peer, but is materially relevant to its giving operations.
• Church Edit: St Michael's website is built on the Church Edit platform. As a specialist church website provider serving UK congregations, Church Edit is an enabling technology supplier rather than a competitor, but is materially relevant as it powers the parish's digital front door and online giving integration.

Emerging players

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster: Another Christian denomination with parish churches serving the same Lancashire region. Operates community-focused worship, sacramental services (baptisms, weddings, funerals) and outreach programmes that overlap materially with St Michael's offering, competing for the same donor and volunteer base in adjacent parishes.
• The Methodist Church (local churches): Other mainstream Christian denominations operating local congregations across Lancashire that compete for the same pool of worshippers, volunteers and donors in the Preston area. Comparable as community-rooted congregations offering weekly worship, children's work and pastoral services on a similar geographic scale.
• Salvation Army (UK): A faith-based organisation combining worship with extensive community social services such as food programmes, family support and bereavement support. Comparable to St Michael's in combining congregational worship with community outreach (e.g., Bereavement Group, Ladies Group), and competes for the same donor and volunteer pool in Lancashire.

Broad incumbents

• Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB): A prominent Church of England parish known for Alpha Course, contemporary worship and a multi-site church-planting model. While St Michael's Hoole is a traditional parish and HTB is a large, networked urban church, both are Anglican parishes offering weekly worship and outreach programmes, making HTB a useful broad incumbent reference point for Anglican ministry models.
• Church of England (national): The established national Church of which St Michael's is a parish, providing Common Prayer liturgy, safeguarding frameworks and parish support. As the wider incumbent institution, the national body sets the doctrinal and operational context in which the parish operates, with overlapping mission and pastoral objectives.
• Diocese of Blackburn: The Church of England diocese within which St Michael's Hoole sits, providing governance, safeguarding oversight (visible in the leadership contacts) and shared clergy training pathways. Operates broadly across Lancashire with multiple parish churches and central diocesan programmes, making it the umbrella institution comparable as a broader incumbent.

Direct peers

• St Andrew's Church, Longton: St Andrew's Longton is the home parish of Revd Sam Crossley, who also serves as Priest in Charge of St Michael's Hoole. It is a Church of England parish in the same Diocese of Blackburn and the same general South Ribble/Lancashire geography, offering weekly worship, baptisms, weddings and funerals with comparable congregational scale. The two parishes share clergy and a governance structure, making St Andrew's the closest operational peer.
• St Mary's Church, Penwortham: A Church of England parish in the Diocese of Blackburn serving a similar South Ribble suburban community near Preston. Comparable in offering Sunday worship, children's work, pastoral services and community groups, with a similar reliance on volunteer-led ministry and donation-based funding. Closely matched in size, demographic and ministry model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Hooleparishchurch
• Instagraminstagram.com/hoolestmichaels
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-michael's-church

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Michael's Church