From Mr Kevin Norris
Sir, - I write further to the comments of Dr David Goodhew and the Ven. Bob Jackson (Letters, 24 October) on our recent report Stronger as One?

The report, which analysed the impact of amalgamating churches on attendance figures, built on the initial work that has been carried out as part of the church-growth research programme, and has developed our understanding of a complex issue through careful statistical analysis.

The report forms part of the follow-on work from the programme, published as From Anecdote to Evidence, which was the first systematic attempt to find associations between numerical growth and decline within the Church of England.

There will be an opportunity to discover more about the work of the programme at the "From Evidence to Action" conference on 4 December in Sheffield at the Cutlers' Hall. Places at the conference can be booked by visiting the church-growth programme's website, www.churchgrowthresearch.org.uk.

The website also contains copies of the research reports.

I would invite all of your readers who are interested in finding out more about the issues raised by the research and how churches are responding to it to come to the conference and hear more.

KEVIN NORRIS
Senior Strategy Officer
Strategy and Development Unit
Church House
Great Smith Street
London SWIP 3AZ