RIverside Church is a great, friendly, local church that I have been attending pretty much since I…read morearrived in Birmingham 15 years ago. The thing that attracted me to it initially was the fact that it was full of people my age, rather than just being old grannies. Not that there is anything wrong with old grannies - it's just nice to meet people you can connect with who are at a similar life stage to you. It meets in a school (Queensbridge) - which is good for people who are a bit scared of church buildings, but has a building on the Alcester Road in Moseley, which can also be hired out for events, and their performing arts training school runs from there. Riverside has a good outward-looking, community ethos: running various stay & play groups, youth groups, sports groups and courses so there's plenty to get stuck into during the week - it's not all about sitting on pews on Sundays.

OK, it's not really a square, neither is it a shop, restaurant, bar etc, etc. But I think it adds…read morequite a bit to the local flavour of Kings Heath. I don't mean the centre here either. In my view, we've been needing something like this locally for years. Kings Heath is bucking the trend and has a thriving local high street with a great number of independent local shops. What it didn't have was somewhere to 'hang out'. I don't mean a place for locals to sit and consume cheap booze, I mean a space that welcomes the whole community and provides a place to sit and enjoy the surrounding space in safety. If you haven't actually checked it out properly. Please do take a moment to sit on one of the benches. Take a look at the maze, encourage you're children to give it a try, or to put their hands in the little water fountains, or just do it yourself. It's a lovely spot to take a moment from the shopping or just stop off on your journey home. I'm not in any way religious, but our local space is a much nicer place to be now that the All Saints project has been finished, so thank you to all those involved.

This space was previously a grassy church yard to All Saints church, with a knee-high wall around…read moreit. The idea came up of developing the space to turn it into a public square, like a suburban version of a village green. The area is functional and pretty. There is a central maze that kids can navigate while mum catches a breather. Sturdy and eye-pleasing seats surround the square, and there is a group of them huddled together where schoolkids can catch up on gossip. The existing gravestones have been sensitively incorporated into the design. The centre piece is a two dimensional maze where you can read calming words of wisdom and inspiration as you make your way to the centre. On the sunny evening that I went there with a group of 7-10 year olds, the space had a somewhat Mediterranean feel. A dark haired man lay with his eyes closed on one of the seats. A pretty woman waited for her date. He arrived on a bicycle and they strolled off. Over-weight teenagers ate chicken and chips out of polystyrene containers. And the kids who were meant to be making crayon rubbings of the mosaics, gravestones and words of wisdom at ground level, splashed around in the bubbly fountains getting soaking wet. Even though it's been there for quite a while, this was the first time that I'd been to the square. It presents itself as a place to take time out, so I'll make time to do just that sometime soon.

Great Church! God is on the move…read more Prayer is central Kids work is awesome! Londonderry is a growing church with a vision to reach the lost. Vision of the Church.... build a bigger lifeboat (extend church). Plant churches from here to the coast, then into Europe and the world. Jesus at the centre of it all!!!

I wouldn't recommend Emmanuel church to anyone...I visited it once but never ever again...don't…read morebother with this church...Sutton Coldfield has way better churches...the best been Sutton Coldfield Baptist church.

If the community of the Jewellery Quarter was a human body, St Paul's Church would be it's beating…read moreheart. It's one of the most picturesque places in the Quarter and really worth a visit if you've never popped in before. The church is overseen by the lovely and eccentric Vicar Mary (who's love of Craft and Film is something to behold). It really is a lovely place to have a wander around, even if you're not in the least bit religious. Honestly, I can vouch that I have been in several times and have never even been singed (it was a relief not to burst into flames). As one of the more hospitable green spaces in the Centre of Birmingham, over summer it's a haven for picknickers, lunch-timers and readers. Over the winter, it's a magnet for sledgers and intrepid snowman makers. As well as Churchy-things, the building has been used for a multitude of cool events. Did you know Elbow hosted a super secret gig in the catacombs a couple of years ago? I have been to Jameson's events, Film screenings and live music based events here. It's well worth keeping an eye on the noticeboards as you pop by, you never know what the Vicar has up her sleeves!

I'm not a church-goer, nor am I religious - but I absolutely love the architecture of churches and…read morereligious buildings, and I love the ambience and calm that descends whenever I am in one. St Paul's has taken a surprising and progressive approach to business by expanding their reach to include operating as a music venue - presumably to carefully handpicked acts only. I've been fortunate enough to see Laura Marling and Lisa Hannigan play gigs here, and both of them suited the venue perfectly. The vaulted ceilings carry their voices clearly across pews and pews of fans, and the acoustics meant the instruments all sounded crystal clear. I'm sure more performers will start seeing churches as an alternative venue to perform in (particularly if they're acoustic and/or folk) though I really can't see any loud heavy metal being performed here!

Quite an unusual choice this, but I wanted to write a few words about St Peters as it is such a…read morelovely spot. A 17th century church, linked to the infant and junior schools nearby, St Peters church and the area around it has a village feel - although only a few minutes away from Harborne High Street you could be fooled into thinking you were in the countryside. The congregation is large at the church with active Scouts and Brownies groups who meet at the adjacent church hall. You might also want to unleash yoru inner goth and take a walk around the graveyard itself which has a number of really rather beautiful headstones and in the spring and summer is awash with wild garlic and bluebells. There is also a lovely pub next door to the Chruch called The Bell, which has a bowling green and brilliant views from the garden.

I walk past this church quite regularly, but my atheist tendencies mean that I rarely visit it…read more It is a gothic Church of England place of worship, with soot stained walls that typify churches across the Black Country. It is always pleasant to walk past and hear singing rising out of the building. The graveyard is well kept towards the road, but it seems to get a bit scruffy as you move further back. My only gripe is that some shifty looking kids tend to hang out in the graveyard. It is all fine providing they aren't unto anything untoward. I tend to get a bit jumpy if I'm walking home alone - so any noise or rustling leaves tends to send me legging it home.

Great Church worth chceking out modern, spirit-filled, helping in the community, family feel…read more The Rock Church Edison Road Beechdale Estate Walsall, West Midlands WS2 7DY O1922 441721