Author: Jo Claridge

The Church Room at All Saints has been a meeting place for worship and fellowship for many years. It was not built to particularly exacting standards, and recently has suffered from rising damp and a leaking roof. The kitchen facilities and the toilet left a lot to be desired. A couple of years ago we decided that it was in desperate need of refurbishing.

To this end we started to raise the money, and with generous donations from the church community and joyful fund raising events, we amassed nearly £14,000 in our building fund. This was not enough to carry out the refurbishment so we looked at obtaining grants. With the help of a local benefactor we applied to the Thatchers Foundation.

Just before Christmas last year we heard from Anne Thatcher, the Foundation Co-ordinator, that we would be given a grant of £15,000 towards the refurbishment. This meant that we could go ahead with the work, which started, using local reputable contractors, in January this year.

It is now finished, and we have a bright and colourful new room with modern kitchen facilities, and a toilet which is disabled compliant, with access for wheelchairs through a new sliding door and an alarmsystem. It also has a baby changing station.

On Saturday 20th September we had the Official Opening. The church was full and guests were providedwith tea, coffee and a wonderful selection of cakes, all served by our Community Café volunteers. OurChurchwarden Diana introduced Martin Thatcher, who did the honours by cutting the ribbon. She thanked the Foundation, and also the many supporters from our church community and beyond who generously donated to the Project. Towards the end we were short of a few items of fixtures and fittings. Again our wonderful church community sponsored items and donated an extra £2,000.

On behalf of the Project Team I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the refurbishment.

It goes to show what can be achieved by a small, but vibrant, church community within the Benefice of Winscombe and Sandford with Churchill.

Douglas Ogram

On behalf of the Project Team

Harvest was celebrated at St James’s the Great, Winscombe, on Sunday 28th September on a lovely sunny morning.

The church was beautifully decorated by our talented flower arrangers with seasonal foliage including teasels, wheat and grapes. The choir sang a special anthem and the service was led by our curate, Reverend Jacqui.
We also collected harvest gifts for the food bank at the For All Healthy Living Centre in Weston.

The service was followed by our Harvest Lunch in the Church Centre attended by over 50 people from the church and the local community.

We enjoyed food and fellowship with a delicious lunch of cold meats served with a variety of salads followed by home made apple crumbles and cream.

On Wednesday 24th September St James’s and All Saints held a Dementia Awareness session for church members and the local community.

Amanda and Sally form the Alzheimer’s Society in North Somerset came to talk to us together with Jen from ‘Alive’

It was clear from those who attended that there is a real need for support in Winscombe for the elderly and their carers.

The good news is that ’Alive’ is starting a new group in the village with a drop in session on Friday 26th September.

The contact for the Alzheimer’s Society is https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/support-services/North%20Somerset%20Local%20Services/Dementia%20Support%20Service%20-%20North%20Somerset/regional

Did you know that the St James’s Events team is now helping to run the monthly market with all the money raised from the rental of the stalls and profit on selling food and drinks going to Church Funds. Please come along and support the Events Team , browse the stalls and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and perhaps a bacon roll or toasted tea cake.

It is on the 3rd Saturday of each month.

For many, many years this fundraising event in aid of The Children’s Society has been a popular fixture in the Winscombe summer calendar.

On Wednesday 13th August, Paul and Mo Matthews’ garden is being thrown open with coffee, lunch and cream teas being served.

The amazing Matthews family are once again holding this popular and productive day as a tribute to Paul, who died last summer.

So please do come along to this special day when we can sit back and spendtime in a lovely garden, enjoying good food and each other’s company.

If you would like to find out more about the work of The Children’s Society visit www.childrenssociety.org.uk or call Angie Lacy on 07475 011108.

St John’s, Churchill recently welcomed people during a weekend of beautiful sunshine for their Flower Festival entitled; ‘What I Wear to Church’.

A team of flower arrangers depicted different themes from gardening to teas, from a chorister to a bride.

At the same time, an Art Postcard Exhibition was held in The Stable. 250 small postcard sized works of art from watercolour, pastel, embroidery, collage and photographs, were donated from both professional and amateur artists aged from 8 to 90.

All were priced at £5.00 regardless of ability, and in many cases, it was the first piece of art they had displayed and sold.

We are very grateful for the support from friends, family, and, in many cases, complete strangers from local art groups, and to those who helped to stage and manage the exhibition. An amazing £612 was raised for church funds; far exceeding our expectations.

Here are just a few of the beautiful floral arrangements that were admired during the weekend and the postcard exhibition.

On Sunday 6th July we held a Pet Praise Service in the Church Centre. We arrived unsure of who would attend and which of God’s creatures might put in an appearance but we were prepared for anything!

So, it was wonderful to see so many people and pets gathered together by the time the service started at 10.00 am. There were lots of dogs of different shapes and sizes, one cat in his carrier and two tortoises in attendance as well as a whole range of cuddly toys representing pets and photographs too, which extended the menagerie to a diverse range of animals including snakes, a guinea pig, hedgehog, tigers, a penguin and even an a axolotl!

It was very touching that some people chose to ‘bring’ pets that had recently died to give thanks for them and remember how special they had been.

We gave thanks and praise for God’s creation and the unique role that pets play in our lives. We thought about how important it is to care for the natural world and our prayers included animals who are mistreated, the work of animal charities and working animals. Two of our songs had words specially written for the service to include popular pets.

The long awaited new outdoor lighting at St James’s has been installed over the past week (June 9th to 13th). Our thanks go to the Friends of St James for funding this important project which not only enhances the churchyard but makes it a safer place after dark for all who visit the church.