Church News

Welcome to Reverend Julian

We have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of our new vicar, Reverend Dr Julian Davies for several months and are delighted that he has now joined us here in the Benefice of Winscombe and Sandford with Churchill.

Reverend Julian was licensed by the Bishop of Bath and Wells at a special service held at St James’s on Thursday 15th January. Over 100 people attended the service including the Bishop, Archdeacon and Area Dean together with clergy from the local area. Friends and colleagues of Reverend Julian were also there to support him together with members of the congregations.

This was followed by a welcome reception in the Church Centre.

On Sunday 18th January, Reverend Julian celebrated his first service with us, Benefice Holy Communion at the Church Centre.

At the end of the service, he was presented with a hamper of local produce to welcome Julian and his family to the area.

We are all looking forward to a positive future working with Reverend Julian in our church and local communities. He is looking forward to getting to know us over the coming weeks.

Reverend Julian’s contact details can be found on the Home Page of the website

For many years we have been privileged to enjoy a Christmas concert by local folk group Badgerset and this year was no exception.

The group is made up of musically talented members of 5 families who each have a link to Mendip Morris.

We were entertained with an eclectic mix of Christmas music; folk tunes and songs from ancient to modern, dance and humour.

A fantastic evening which has raised over £10,000 for St James’s and All Saints Churches over the past twelve years.

This Christmas we decided to do the Christingle Service in a different way! In order to try to involve as many children as possible, the Children’s Society Committee approached Winscombe Primary School and asked if we might hold the Christingle there.

The Head, Mrs Baker, was extremely welcoming and in early December we went to Linden Class (Year 3) and explained to them how Christingle began and what it represents; they then each made a Christingle.

They used an apple to represent the world, red tape round the apple to show the love of God for the world, four orange sticks with a grape, some sultanas, a piece of carrot and a sweet to represent the four corners of the earth and the four seasons of the year. Finally, a candle was placed on the top of the apple.

We then went into the school hall for assembly where the children of Linden Class stood at the front and explained the meaning of the Christingles to the other classes in the school. We sang two songs, said a prayer and then the candles were lit, the lights were dimmed, and we all sang a verse of ‘Away in a Manger’.

It was a magical occasion and Mrs Baker has very kindly asked us to return for Christmas 2026

Remembrance Sunday was marked in each of our churches with a special service including marking the two minute silence and the laying of wreathes on our village memorials. Each church  was decorated for the occasion.

The service at St James’ the Great in Winscombe was attended by many members of the village’s uniformed groups including Beavers, Scouts and Explorers, Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers with each section parading their flag, behind the Union Flag and the colours of the Royal British Legion. It was wonderful to see so many young people joining in the commemoration.

A number of community groups were also represented and laid their wreathes on the memorial in the churchyard.

On Tuesday 11th November, Armistice Day, we  held a special Remembrance Coffee Morning in the Church Centre. The Union Flag was paraded followed by a short service of remembrance.

We were pleased to welcome Year 6 from Winscombe Primary School who participated in the service by reading a beautiful and very moving poem which they had written as a class. The children also shared some wonderful paintings that they had created on the same theme.

We were so impressed by their poem that we felt others may wish to read it.

The Fab Twins returned to the Church Centre to play in front of a sell out crowd at this year’s Autumn Supper.

Songs from the 50s, 60s and 70s were enjoyed by everyone and the dancers were in good form.

A delicious ploughman’s supper was served and the bar did a good trade too!

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.