Firstly, St. Francis church in Bournville is quite simply a beautiful church, both inside and out…read more I can't really comment on the general work or services of the church, but I had the good fortune to attend a friend's wedding there recently and was impressed by how beautiful, bright and welcoming the building is - as well as the clergy there. It is a big church, but simple and elegant, tastefully decorated inside in light blue and cream - which was, conveniently, the colour scheme of the wedding. I have no idea whether this was intentional on the bride's behalf, or just plain co-incidence. I do know that they were an extremely accommodating lot at St. Francis, so who knows? Maybe they re-painted just for her... The wedding party rocked up with their own vicar, musicians, decorations and what have you; all of which were readily welcomed and accommodated by the vicar - Peter Babington - and his staff. According to my (now married) friend, they were great at keeping in touch and making sure everything ran smoothly as well. So, as I said, I can't tell you about Sunday services or other day-to-day church activities, but for a wedding, this place seemed perfect.

This is actually quite a fantastic looking church. It's one of those churches I've been to for a…read morewedding that I attended a couple of months back. It's pretty large inside and offers traditional features which I always adore when walking into a religious building. The colours they've used are colours I'd expect to see in a church. It's effective and presents an image of an important place. When I went there for this wedding I attended, the church looked great in the backdrop of all the wedding pictures. Due to the traditional look of the church from the outside, it worked well in regards to offering a scenery for the wedding party. The church congregation and vicar are very welcoming and it's nice to attend a church where you are not badgered about attending their church. This left me with a positive feeling about the religious establishment that I may visit the place again.

Really interesting and thought-provoking Bible talks, especially for Evangelical and Orthodox…read moreChristians or those just confused by a lot of the Bible.

Tucked away up Selly Park's side streets on the border of Selly Oak, St Stephen's Church is a bit…read moreof a hidden gem. I chanced upon it whilst trying to find the quickest walking route from Selly Oak to Cannon Hill Park. It's an impressive, if slightly imposing building that's been well maintained.Built in 1871, it remains a good example of it's era. I particularly like the tall grey spire and the the way the trees surround the church in it's graveyard. In terms of denomination and approach, it's a Church of England church with an evangelical outlook , committed to welcoming new comers, including the students that form a large chunk of the local population. If you're a Christian in the area looking for a new church, why not give them a try?

St. Stephens is a lovely church. It somehow remains a bit hidden, despite being a) quite large and…read moreb) in the middle of students-ville practically on the Pershore Road. Its surrounded by trees and a small garden area; which makes it feel more secluded and countrified, albeit in the middle of Selly Oak... I've been to a few weddings here, and they've all gone without hitch. The staff seem to be really welcoming and friendly and the church itself always looks beautiful - inside and out. The entrance is by a side door, which is lovely, as everyone gets to see the bride enter without doing a 180 degrees head turning owl impression.

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.

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.

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.