The Archbishop of Canterbury was guest of honour at a church to celebrate its anniversary and see how it is winning new worshippers.

St Aidan's in New Parks, Leicester, was packed yesterday for the visit by Dr Rowan Williams.

While churches across the country have seen congregations dwindle, numbers at St Aidan's have increased – largely thanks to its hardworking vicar, Father Simon Lumby.

He told Dr Williams the church had worked with schools, hospitals, care homes and community groups to place itself at the heart of the community.

Dr Williams said: "I have spoken to a lot of people who said St Aidan's was a very big part of their lives.

"I understand New Parks has had a lot of problems and to have a church and priest at the centre of the community like this is crucial.

"Leicester as a city does an amazing amount for community relations and is a beacon of good practice."

In three years, the congregation has gone from 28 to over 80.

Fr Lumby said: "This is a mammoth event for us. There is a strong feeling here the church matters.

"Morale is incredibly high. New Parks is doing better.

"I love it here and love the people. I think the church is a very important part of the regeneration going on."

Worshipper Jackie Lovett, from Braunstone Frith, said it had been a wonderful day.

She said: "It was amazing to have the Archbishop of Canterbury here.

"The service was spiritually uplifting. I think a lot of people got a lot out of it."

This year is the golden jubilee of St Aidan's, which was designed by Sir Basil Spence, architect of Coventry Cathedral.

The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Tim Stevens, said it was a rare privilege for the Archbishop to visit a small parish church.

He said: "He enjoys making parish visits because he feels relaxed and comfortable. He finds it encouraging to see life in the smaller churches.

"St Aidan's has been a success because it has a vigorous parish priest who is imaginative and lively."

After the service at St Aidan's, Dr Williams gave a lecture at Leicester Cathedral.

Afterwards, he spoke about reality TV star Jade Goody, who died yesterday of cervical cancer.

He said: "What she did in terms of her dying is very brave and very challenging because it's about different kinds of making peace.

"We ought to honour that. I don't think there was any way, sadly, in which she could avoid the public attention.

"But it was used not to aggrandise her but to tell people what mattered to her and say something about the values she tried to live with at the end of her life.

"If in her earlier career it was all about her then at the end it was about something else."