St Mary on the Sea’s parish church in Grimsby is locally referred to as a ­hidden gem. It is a church with a ­stunningly beautiful interior and an active congregation; but it is behind a high brick wall and thick screen of trees. So hidden is it that many in the local area thought that it had closed many years ago – and, in one respect, they were correct. The church was shut. Through a mixture of fear of vandalism and lack of confidence, the doors were only open for Mass four times a week.Last year, the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis initiated a parish-based pilot project called Crossing the Threshold (CTT). The pilot was co-run in the Nottingham Diocese by the ­bishops’ conference home-mission desk and the diocesan tea