Celebrating five years working with Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich

This month Prominent celebrates our fifth anniversary working with the Church of England in Suffolk.

The Diocese is more than a religious organisation – it also acts as a vital community resource. It is part of the fabric of the county, with its work affecting the lives of countless people across Suffolk.

Over the last five years, we have worked closely with the Diocese to shine a light on the amazing work they do and to tell some of its brilliant stories from across the county.

Here, Adam Howlett, Media Relations Lead at Prominent, looks back at our time working with the Diocese and some of the amazing stories we have been proud to share.

Making a difference to the community

One of the best things about working with the Diocese is meeting the fascinating people who make up the Church of England in Suffolk.

For example, I was lucky enough to speak to Rev Enid Pow recently, a priest at a church in north Suffolk, who has just returned from two years working in the arctic circle.

She had an incredible story to tell, living in an Inuit community in one of the harshest environments on the planet.

Soon after, I was in Felixstowe, visiting the Pushchair Pitstop initiative, where the local church group had supplied more than £750,000 of children’s clothes and toys to people in need since the start of the pandemic.

It is telling these stories that makes the Diocese such an exciting client to work with – and getting the chance to meet the people behind the story.

National news

When you work with a client for five years, you can’t help but have your favourite press releases and stories you have told along the way.

We’ve had vicars transforming their churches into the world of Dr Who and a congregation producing their very own children’s book – and many more fun ones in the archives.

However, probably the biggest story we have worked on recently for the Diocese was a sad one – the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

As the Queen was the head of the Church of England, the Diocese was a flurry of activity as soon as the news broke.

Prominent supported the Diocese with its communications throughout, issuing statements to local and national press, arranging interviews and organising TV crews to visit the cathedral for its memorial services.

Prominent are proud to have been part of such an important moment in history, and to support the Church of England through this busy time.

To another five years

It is difficult to sum up all our success stories for the Diocese – there are just too many to mention in one blog.

Our hugely successful #CapturingMyFaith campaign comes to mind, as do our Lent and Christmas campaigns.

Over the last five years we have seen hundreds of stories published in local newspapers, sharing the incredible work volunteers do on behalf of the church.

We have been there whenever they need us and have developed a close relationship with those at the Diocese we work with.

As a result, our work with the Diocese has been shortlisted in the 'client care' category at this year's Chartered Institute of PR PRide awards – we'll find out if we've been successful on 28th September.

Even being shortlisted is testament to how much the Diocese means to Prominent as a long-standing client.

With so many people supported by the work of the Diocese across Suffolk, there are a myriad of stories to tell, each more fascinating than the last.

Everyone here at Prominent has hugely enjoyed our five successful years working together – and look forward to what the next five years may bring.

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