St Mary the Virgin, Burlescombe
St Mary's Church, Burlescombe,
EX16 7JP
EX16 7JP
Contact David Sprague 07743 354619
Our Church is Changing
As of January 2024 St Mary the Virgin Church, Burlescombe is becoming a “festival” Church.
What does this mean?
This means that we will not be having a service every month but instead we will be focussing on “festivals” such as Easter, Harvest, Christmas. The church will still be available for your Life Events (Christenings, Weddings and Funerals). We are not closing our doors.
Why?
Like in every other area of life the costs of keeping the Church open has risen with the cost of oil, insurance and so on. Unfortunately our regular attendance numbers have dropped, and we are struggling to meet these ongoing costs.
Many residents belong to the Friends of St Mary’s, and we appreciate the help of the Friends, but their support is with the maintenance of the Structure, so the building is kept in good repair.
How can we make these changes more productive?
By holding less services throughout the year and focussing on festivals and events; we will be looking at changing our service structure.
We are looking to hold more community event days and open days to help raise funds.
Our first service in 2024 will be a Plough Sunday on January 21st, where we will be thinking of those involved in food production and blessing a plough!
Please see the Services page for details.
JUBILEE TREE IN BURLESCOMBE CHURCHYARD IN MARCH 2022
A silver birch tree has been planted in Burlescombe churchyard in honour of the Queen's Jubilee later this year. It was planted by Luke Trevelyan, assisted by his children. Luke is on Burlescombe Parish Council.
MESSY CHURCH IN JANUARY 2022
Epiphany was celebrated in Messy Church with all kinds of art and craft, ranging from rainbows of hope to multi-coloured stars
MESSY HARVEST - ENJOYED BY THE YOUNG AND THE NOT SO YOUNG!
LIFE EVENTS
A happy day for Tom and Sophie - despite the weather!
The Grand Western Canal passes through the parish and was originally built to transport stone and lime, but now offers relaxing walks and cycle rides along its 11 mile towpath to Tiverton. The ruins of the 12th century Canonsleigh Abbey and medieval chapel at Ayshford are nearby.
The church was built in the late 13th century with additions being made in the 15th century. It was renovated in the Victorian period when new carved oak pews and stained glass windows were added. The church has a fine two manual pipe organ which is played regularly at services. There are 6 ancient bells which are rung occasionally for services and by visiting bell ringers. It is popular for weddings and baptisms.
Harvest, Christmas and other festivals are particularly well attended and it is a popular church for weddings.
Safeguarding
The rest of our Safeguarding Policy statement can be found on our Statements pages.If you have a concern about the safety of someone or the actions of someone working with children or vulnerable adults, please speak to someone:
· The name of our Parish Safeguarding Representative is: vacant (if you have a safeguarding issue please contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.· The link to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team’s contact details - https://exeter.anglican.org/resources/safeguarding/safeguarding-team/
If you are a young person and you feel unhappy about something happening to you, you can call Childline on 0800 11 11.