Information for Bawdrip and its Church

Our focus is on sharing the love of Jesus with an emphasis on the fellowship aspects of our Parish life.  Ministry is important and we are at present looking forward to the appointment of a new Rector. We hope our efforts in this area will continue to be nurtured and supported by our new incumbent.  Worship is the third pillar and whilst we have a mix of traditional (BCP Evensong) and Common Worship Communion we are always open to new forms. We have a bi monthly cafe style service and a weekly reflective Pause for Thought.  The whole PCC and church membership are always fully supportive of any measures that we put in place to provide opportunities for outreach and to welcome new people into church.

We are part of a larger Benefice and much takes place to hold the Benefice together. 

The church building is located in the centre of the village and we always aim to ensure the church is also the heart of the village.  There is widespread support for the church throughout the village and this is reflected in the support that we get whenever appeals go out.

Our vicar is Revd Kirsty Wells Tel: 012178 685480 [email protected]

Our 2020 Annual Report and Accounts are accesible via the link below:

/content/pages/documents/apcm-report-april-2021-v1-050474492363.doc

Parish Dashboards have been produced by the Church of England Research and Statistics Unit to provide a useful source of information and be a clear picture of the reported patterns of activity in parishes and links to relevant government information at parish level. It does not reflect everything a church does, but it is hoped that by displaying information clearly and consistently the information can inform the decisions that churches make about their mission and ministry. Bawdrip's Parish Dasboard is here: /content/pages/documents/1570621101.pdf

 

Church organisations

We have the following committees in place:

The PCC, Parish Hall Refurbishment Group and Events Committee.

Our PCC is nine strong and drawn from a church electoral role of 21.

The regular church attendance varies from 4 to 13 with 13 regular members.  There are two churchwardens in post who both encourage change and innovation within the church and have always worked well with the incumbent.  We have had four new members join the church in the last year and they are making a valuable and appreciated contribution to our church life.

There is a small but talented Flower Guild in the village.  In addition to the weekly flowers and decoration for festivals, in 2010 they put together a very successful Flower Festival.

We have our own pages in the Benefice ‘Link’ magazine that is published 10 times per year. In it upcoming events and reports of events are published along with general parish news.    

Readers and retired minister

The Benefice is blessed with two readers and one retired minister who are all actively engaged with the parishes and working hard to make the interregnum run smoothly. 

Events

As part of our vision of improving fellowship within the village we run, for a small church, a wide variety of events. See the what's going on page.

A number of church members are volunteers at the monthly village cafe. We have established a good link with the village pub and, with the Landlord and the yearly carol singing always ends up there! The events, in addition to providing income for the church, are also aimed at providing fellowship opportunities within the village.  We are also fortunate in having a very united Benefice and events are always well supported by members from across the Benefice.

The parish

The population of Bawdrip is around 490 with 195 households and the electorate is 396 – a recent development in the centre of the village has added 9 households.  Bawdrip is located to the east of Bridgwater, and the A39, which follows the Polden Hills to Glastonbury forms the North and West boundaries of the village. To the south there are views across the levels towards the neighbouring village of Chedzoy with which Bawdrip shares its school.  Approximately half of the houses in Bawdrip are located in and around the centre (the Church being the focal point). The remainder are located along the A39.  National cycle path 3, part of the Sustrans network, passes through the village and links Bawdrip with Cossington via the old railway track. There is a wide spread of age groups within the village, with people coming from all walks of life.  There are a number of long established families in the village and we are now beginning to see a population with a more transient nature.  Whilst in general not an affluent area, Bawdrip could be classified as ‘comfortably off’.  It currently supports a garage, a touring caravan site, a pub and four farms. Just outside the parish is an agricultural supplies company that provides anything you need from cheese to railway sleepers!

Church

The Church, dedicated to St. Michael and All Angels, is of 14th century origin. The outstanding feature of the church is its cruciform, aisle-less structure with a central tower, believed to be one of only seven of its type in the country. The tower houses a peal of four bells. The church has a very comfortable atmosphere and visitors regularly comment on how attractive a building it is. The last Quinquennial survey in 2019 reported that the church is in generally good condition. The seating capacity around 140. We recently removed the pews from the North Aisle to provide a more open air for a wide variety of activities. We are currently seeking funding to restore a section of our churchyard wall. We are launching a 'Friends of St Michael's and All Angels' group.

Parish Hall

There is a parish hall in the village that was built during the inter-war period on land given to commemorate the Great War. It is of wooden and metal construction and has a small stage and kitchen area. The size of the hall (it is licensed for 75 people) means that it has an intimate feel to it and a group of just 30 can fill it. It has been refurbished recently.  We use it for our events and there are a number of external groups that are also using it on a regular basis. It is available for hire.A working group are currently engaged in planning and seeking funding for some refurbishments to the hall.

Finance

A copy of the 2018 accounts is available from the Diocese on request. Bawdrip has been able to pay its common fund in full.

Services

We have a regular pattern of Sunday services (1st + 3rd Sunday 11am Communion and 2nd  Sunday BCP Evensong at 6.30pm). The fourth Sunday is dedicated to a Benefice Communion and likewise if there is a 5th Sunday in the month.Every two months on the 4th Sunday we hold a cafe style service at 4pm. We hold a Pause for Thought short reflective time at 7.15pm on Tuesdays.

During Covid restrictions online worship is being held on Sundays at 10am. See here for details: /content/pages/documents/1610632879.docx      

We are small in number but not afraid of trying different styles of worship.  In previous years we have held family services, Taize, Celtic and ‘Big Breakfast’ events in place of the regular services.  In 2019 we held an open air service on the village green. We are committed to being as open and inclusive as possible and are therefore always open to different ideas and styles of worship.

                                                                                  


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