CHURCHES in Craven are bucking the trend of collapsing attendances at services.

A report by Christian Research states that attendance at Anglican churches in the countryside has collapsed by more than a third in the past 10 years with average congregations now down to just 14.

The survey, published by Rural Ministries, a charity which helps to repair and maintain struggling churches, found that in 10 years overall attendance fell throughout England by 22 per cent.

However the fall was far more marked in the countryside, where attendance fell 39 per cent.

But the Archdeacon of Craven, the Ven Malcolm Grundy, said local attendance figures for special occasions such as Easter and Good Friday were very pleasing and were staying level on a normal Sunday.

The priest-in-charge of the parish of Giggleswick and Rathmell with Wigglesworth, the Rev Peter Yorkstone, believes it is important for the church to be seen as available to all.

He said people came to church for everything from weddings to concerts, and that church involvement went beyond Sunday worship.

His parish also believes that youth activity plays a key role in attendance figures. Its 003 club, for example, meets twice a month on a Sunday evening, with encouraging membership figures.

The Methodist Church also has seen a drop of 241,000 between 1979 and 1999. Attendances have declined at such a rate that, if continued, the church would become extinct by 2031.

But the Rev Vivien Firth, Methodist minister for the Grassington circuit, said she was pleased with her attendance figures.

She believes the answer to maintaining positive attendance figures is church involvement in the community.

In the Roman Catholic church, the average congregation size in remote areas fell from 208 to 124.