Sunday Celebration is the new name for our all-age service at the Church Centre in Winscombe, which will take place on the first Sunday of each month at 10.00 am from January 2025.
The services will be informal and led by a variety of people including the clergy and several of our newly trained Lay Worship Leaders. We hope they will be topical and offer something for everyone.
There will be crafts and lego challenges for the children as well as video versions of bible stories and songs to enjoy.
All are welcome so why not come along? The first one is on Sunday 5th January which is Epiphany when we celebrate the three kings visiting Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem.
Our Family Holy Communion service on 17th November marked ‘Safeguarding Sunday’. This came at the end of a week when sadly, the Church of England had been in the news after the publication of the Makin Report.
We watched a video message from Bishop Michael in response to recent events which can be viewed by following this YouTube link.
Safeguarding Sunday provides a time when churches think about how they are supporting those who have been hurt or harmed and highlight and celebrate all the good work that is being done, in the majority of places, to protect vulnerable people and create safer cultures and communities for all both now and in the future. These themes were reflected in our prayers, reading and worship songs. Our reflection took the form of a poem especially produced for Safeguarding Sunday which was both thought provoking and challenging. If you would like to watch it, you can find it in the Church News section of our website https://winsandchurches.org.uk/church-news/
We are fortunate to have two dedicated Parish Safeguarding Officers in our benefice who ensure that all our staff and volunteers undergo the necessary checks and have training that is up to date and relevant to their roles. They also deal promptly with any issues that may arise.
On Friday 18th October, St James’s Events team hosted an Autumn Supper with entertainment from the duo ‘The Fab Twins’. The Church Centre was packed with people who came along to enjoy live music from the 60s amid 70s played by Jon and Stace.
It wasn’t long before the dancing began and by the end of the evening you could hardly move on the dance floor! Meanwhile at the tables several of the more mature participants invented their own seated dances, so everyone joined in.
An Autumn Ploughman’s supper was served during the evening with a delicious selection of cheeses and accompaniments, and the bar was well stocked and much visited.
We also held a raffle and a tabletop quiz on the theme of music from the 70s and 80s.
Everyone had a great time and it was lovely to see so many different people from our local community enjoying themselves together.
If you missed it, don’t worry, we’re planning to do it all again next year. Put Friday 17th October in your diary now.
Services were held at each of our churches on Remembrance Sunday as our villages paid their respects to the fallen with the two-minute silence being kept at 11.00 am.
In Sandford a large number of people assembled at the memorial to lay wreaths and listen to the names of those who died. There were poignant displays of poppies and artefacts in the church as a reminder of those who served in conflicts past and present.
At St John’s a poppy wreath was placed on the two war memorial tablets in church.
St James’s was decorated with knitted poppies and the church was full. This included over 40 young people representing Girl Guiding and Scouting in Winscombe, as well as representatives of many local organisations. During the service Scouts and Guides read the names of the fallen. Wreaths were laid on the altar before being placed on the churchyard War Memorial at the end of the service. These included one from our local MP, Tessa Munt.
We remembered those we have loved as we came together at our All Souls’ Service on the afternoon of Sunday 3rd November. We had a thoughtful time of singing, readings and poems and the opportunity to place candles to represent family and friends , on a cross at the foot of the altar.
Harvest Festival was celebrated in Winscombe on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th October.
On Saturday evening a Harvest Supper was held in the Church Centre with some 50 guests attending to enjoy food and fellowship. Cold meats with a selection of salads were served followed by generous portions of homemade apple crumble and cream. There was a quiz and an after-supper activity, both on harvest themes, to make us use our little grey cells too!
On Sunday morning members of all three churches in the Benefice gathered in the Church Centre for our Harvest Festival Service.
The hall was beautifully decorated with seasonal arrangements by our talented team of flower arrangers.
An informal service included time to give our gifts of non-perishable food to our local food banks, and lots of singing including ‘We Plough the Fields and Scatter’ to slightly different words.
We Plough the fields with tractors
With drills we sow the land;
But growth is still the wondrous gift
Of God’s almighty hand.
Our reflection was an interactive one involving the children in using the letters of the word HARVEST to make new words and explore the meaning of the celebration – EARTH, EAT, STARVE, SHARE, HEART and STAR!
The children made baskets of play dough food, coloured in the letters of HARVEST and decorated paper plates after sticking a children’s grace in the centre.
After the service we all shared our Harvest Loaf with a cup of tea or coffee.
St James’s has supported this charity in the past especially the shelter that they run for abused women.
Spring of Hope provides 8 beds each night for women who would otherwise be rough sleeping, as well as providing a safe and welcoming space for women who have experienced trauma.
Saturday 14th September saw our CHOTA 2024 (Churches and Chapels on the Air) Amateur Radio activation from the Church of Saint James the Great. Before I go on to report the events of the day, I must first say a big thank you to the church for allowing us to operate on the day. In particular I’d like to thank Derrick Claridge and Scott Smart for their support and help, not just on the day, but also in the lead up to it. We were made to feel very welcome, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and I know I speak for all of us when I say what a privilege it was to be able to use such a beautiful building for our hobby.
Things on the day didn’t start as planned. Two days before (Thursday) there was what we call a Coronal Mass Ejection (solar flare) that hit the earth. This significantly disturbed the ionosphere. Radio Amateurs rely on bouncing radio signals off the (undisturbed) ionosphere and the earth’s surface to get beyond just line of sight communication. And on Saturday morning the ionosphere was still disturbed. We managed to make contact with the station at All Saints Church in Kingston Seymour, they reported radio conditions as very bad. But we persevered, and it paid off, after lunch conditions improved and by 4pm, when we dismantled the station, conditions were good! According to our log we had made contact with 34 other amateur radio stations, 12 of which were also located in Churches or Chapels. We had made contact with stations in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Belgium, France and The Netherlands. Not as many contacts as we had hoped but more than enough to make the day a very enjoyable experience for us all.
On behalf of Warren, M7RVD, Dave, G4CXQ, Richard, M7AMP, and myself Sean, G7NJX, Thank you again for allowing us to use the Church and making us feel so welcome.
On Sunday 1st September, members of St James’s, All Saints and St John’s, together with members of the local community, gathered together to say ‘goodbye’ to Reverend Andrew Hiscox after seven and a half years first as curate and latterly as vicar in the Benefice.
A special Benefice Service took place at St James’s at which Reverend Andrew preached and presided over Holy Communion. The service included hymns specially chosen by Andrew and a joint choir sang several special pieces to mark the occasion finishing with a sung blessing.
This was followed by a lunch in the Church Centre, attended by over 80 people. A selection of savoury food was followed by cake. Anyone who has been in Andrew’s company over the past few years knows he has a particular fondness for cake!
The lunch concluded with a presentation of gifts to Andrew and his family.
Andrew was presented with a cheque; Corinna with flowers and a token to say thank you for her support for Andrew; and Owyn and Carys received Book Tokens to wish them well in their further studies at university and school. The final gift was a Photobook containing pictures of Andrew’s time here and messages of thanks and good luck from the Church communities.
The family are moving to Andrew’s new Benefice in the Diocese of Gloucester and this was an opportunity to wish them all well with their move and future ministry.
6th June 2024 marked the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings a time to remember and honour the brave people who risked their lives for freedom and peace.
Several events were organised to mark the occasion in Winscombe throughout the anniversary week.
The Flags and Festivals group organised the flying of D-Day 80 flags and Union Jacks throughout the village and several shops had special displays.
D-Day Coffee Morning About 50 people gathered for a special Coffee Morning at the Church Centre on Tuesday morning. The tables were decorated on a patriotic theme and several people enjoyed sharing memories of wartime including photographs with others. Music from the World War 2 era accompanied the morning. One attendee even brought along his own ration book!
Beacon Lighting on Millennium Green On Thursday 6th June, the anniversary of D-Day the village was proud to be part of the National Beacon Lighting event. About 300 people gathered on the Green at dusk for the event, some of whom had attended a documentary fils show at the Church Centre. A parade of members the Royal British Legion, Girl Guiding, the Scout Association and the Fire Service signalled the start of the event.
Before the lighting of the beacon, Lois Brenchley, Chair of the Millennium Green Trust, spoke about life in Winscombe at the time of D-Day and Scout Leader, Mark Caddy outlined the role that cubs and scouts played in the local community during wartime. Reverend Andrew Hiscox read ‘The International Tribute’ which was followed by the lighting of the beacon by Archie Forbes, Chair of the Parish Council, and the singing of the National Anthem.
Nostalgia Night On Saturday 8th June the St James’s Events team held a sell out ‘Nostalgia Night’ at the Church Centre. Many of those attending chose to come along dressed to represent the World War 2 era which added greatly to the atmosphere of the evening.
Entertainment was provided by the trio, Harmonic Motion, and by Nigel Carson from Winscombe Folk Club. The music had a largely nostalgic flavour and included the opportunity for community singing of sing-along favourites.
The supper of ‘Rations’ included spam sandwiches and bread pudding and was surprisingly enjoyable!
Although the evening was generally lighter in mood than the official events of the week, time was also taken to reflect on what D-Day meant for a serving soldier through a reading of eye-witness diary extracts.
