The first woman vicar of a Victorian church said she wants to reach out to people who feel alone or out of place in Epsom.
The Rev Rosemary Donovan, vicar of Christ Church in Epsom Common, said: “There is a hunger for community, but it’s actually quite hard to locate in Epsom.
"If people feel dislocated or don’t have that sense of community then what the church can offer is friendship.”
She said people tended to move to Epsom only when they had made enough money to buy here and bring up children near decent schools and green spaces.
She said: “There are not a lot of people in their 20s.
“We do have a bit of a missing generation.”
Ms Donovan, who is the mayor’s chaplain this year, said people quite often use the church as a safety net to catch them during times of trouble.
She said: “How many people say ‘Oh my God’ in a crisis. It is a privilege that you can be there for people when they have an ‘Oh my God’ moment.
“We are aware of this dislocation and loneliness in society and that often causes isolation and feelings of depression.
“As a church we are looking at how we can be there for people at a time of need and support people in crisis.”
Ms Donovan became vicar of the Church of England parish church in Christ Church Road in 2011 after being an associate vicar at a church in Moseley, Birmingham.
She said the church is also trying to reach out to people living in new estates, such as Manor Park and Livingstone Park, built on the sites at the former Epsom cluster of psychiatric hospitals.
She said a whole new community was now developing. She said: “We are having to cast our net a bit wider.”
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