Upcoming Events and News
Welcome to The Benefice of The Huntspills and Mark.
In addition to the schedule of events shown on the right, you can find further details about upcoming events below and a monthly calendar at the bottom of this page.
If you are looking for social events planned for the year ahead visit our Social Calendar
For a snap shot of village life, check out Gallery: East Huntspill Gallery: West Huntspill Gallery: Mark
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Social Events and Special Services Coffee Morning News Foodbank Bishop Michael Revd Chris’ Blog Huntspill News Heritage Project West Huntspill Church Hall
Social Events and Special Services
If you are looking for social events planned for the year ahead visit our Social Calendar
To find out more about upcoming events in East Huntspill visit Huntspill.org or email allsaintscommunitygroup@outlook.com to receive monthly flyers.
Saturday 7th December Christmas Bazaar, East Huntspill
Cancelled due to weather conditions
A festive event filled with stalls, games, gifts, arts and crafts, refreshments and much much more.
All Saints Church and Church Hall, East Huntspill, doors open 11am.
Fun for all the Family so why not come along and get those Christmas presents early!
For more information please email us at allsaintscommunitygroup@outlook.com
Advent Service
Sunday 1st December 6.pm Holy Cross Church, Mark
Advent Peace
30 minutes of quiet,
in a candle lit church
No service, no hymns,
no sermon,
just peace
A time to be….
Tuesday 3rd December 6.30-7pm Holy Cross Church, Mark
Tuesday 10th December 6.30-7pm St Peter and All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
Christmas Services and Carols by Candlelight
Sunday 15th December 9.30am Holy Cross Church, Mark. Christingle Service and Blessing of the Crib
Sunday 15th December 3pm All Saints Church, East Huntspill. Carols by Candlelight followed by refreshments
Friday 20th December 7pm Holy Cross Church, Mark. Carols by Candlelight followed by refreshments
Sunday 22nd December 6pm St Peter and All Hallows Church, West Huntspill. Carols by Candlelight
Christmas Eve 2pm St Peter and All Hallows Church, West Huntspill. Crib and Christingle Service
Christmas Eve 4pm All Saints Church, East Huntspill. Crib and Christingle Service
Christmas Eve 11.15pm Holy Cross Church, Mark. Midnight Mass
Christmas Day 10am St Peter and All Hallows Church, West Huntspill. Friends and Family Communion Service
Coffee Mornings
Come along to one of our coffee mornings for a coffee, cake and chat. For further information Coffee Mornings and Huntspill Hub
Daily 10am- 4pm, Huntspill Hub Honesty Café
Monday 10.30 -12noon, West Huntspill
Tuesday 10.00-12noon, Mark
Wednesday 1030-12noon, Mark
Saturday 10.30-12noon, East Huntspill
3rd Saturday Monthly cake sale 10.30-12noon, East Huntspill
News
For a snap shot of village life, check out Gallery: East Huntspill Gallery: West Huntspill Gallery: Mark
Ashley Fox MP
Ashley Fox MP for Burnham & Bridgwater visits the Huntspill Hub at St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
Burnham RNLI’s helm Matt Edwards tied the knot with fiancé Abbey,
After their traditional service and the signing of the register, they left the church to see a group of lifeboat crew and well-wishers were formed in two lines outside the church door with an archway of oars.
The happy couple walked to the end of the lines accompanied by congratulatory applause from lifeboat volunteers and wedding guests.
Thank you burnham-on-sea.com’ for the lovely photos! Burnham on Sea .com
Ecclesiastical Insurance
The next time that you renew your home insurance why not get a quote from ecclesiastical
Call 0345 777 3322 or www.ecclesiastical.com/home-insurance/
Each time one of our community takes out a home insurance policy with ecclesiastical, they will donate a £130 to our church, just by referencing TRUST 130 on the telephone or using promotion code TRUST 130 online
One of the UK’s most trusted home insurance providers and a ’Which?’ Best Buy
Enjoying the countryside
Our local Police Officer, PC Tracey Jones, has asked that we share the following information concerning livestock as they have been responding to problems recently along these lines.
We have also found these guidelines to help make our area safe for all.
Bishop Michael gifts a thousand tree saplings
A thousand Hazel tree saplings were given as gifts at Bishop Michael’s installation in 2022.
In his sermon, Bishop Michael shared how this gift was an example of just one of the things we can do to bring about the harvest of God’s life into God’s world and asked all those present “will you plant a sapling as a sign that under God each of us, in every place, can play our part in working for change, for transformation, for life. Small actions that when we undertake them together make a big difference.”
The hazel saplings are a symbol of a commitment to everyone to turn words into action.
East Huntspill has nurtured their sapling, which has grown strong and was today planted within the church grounds and we all look forward to watching its growth and changes throughout the seasons. Visit Gallery: East Huntspill to see more photos
Foodbank
Donations can be left in All Saints Church, East Huntspill
We welcome donations of in-date non-perishable, food and toiletries.
We also welcome clean & unbroken ‘bags for life’
Please note we cannot accept alcohol or baby formula
Thank you for your support
Highbridge Area Foodbank
Bishop of Bath and Wells: Refreshing our diocesan vision
Our Diocesan Vision: In response to God’s immense love for us we seek to be God’s people living and telling the story of Jesus.
We seek to live this story as disciples of Jesus Christ in the world and to tell it, both in sharing the good news and by the way in which our lives speak about Him.
This has been our vision for a few years. With our new bishop in place, now seems like a good time to ask ourselves how we are doing that, and how we want to do that in the next season of our diocesan life together.
As he travelled around our diocese in his first months, Bishop Michael identified four areas that might help us focus our activity in the future:
• Valuing and cherishing the people and resources we already have
• Developing new Christian worshipping communities
• Sharing in ministry and leadership
• Deepening and growing faith
You can hear Bishop Michael sharing his thoughts on refreshing our vision:
Visit Bath and Wells website to find out more
Rev Chris’ Blog,
December 2024 ‘Calm and Bright’
By the time we step into December we can be in little doubt that ‘Christmas is coming!’. As Advent Calendars are begun, stepping us day by day toward 25th December, I wonder how you are feeling? December can seem rather pressurised, with lots of social events, services, presents to buy, cards to write and never-ending to-do lists. The idea of creating the ‘perfect Christmas’ appears all over the place, with many different ideas of what that perfection might look like. A sense of things being ‘out of control’, unattainable and/or chaotic can easily pervade – leaving us wanting to scream or ‘run and hide’ or maybe just ‘try to get through it’.
Into this arena come our Christmas Carols which paint a very different picture:
“Silent Night! Holy Night! All is calm, all is bright…..”
This well-loved carol invites us into the still centre of the Christmas story, to contemplate Mary holding the new born Jesus, the Light of the World. The messages we hear from the angels in the Biblical story of Jesus’ birth hold together the need for calm in the present (‘Do not be afraid’…’Fear not’) with the hope of a bright future (‘for you have found favour with God’….’’I bring you tidings of great joy’).
Isn’t this what we truly long for? These two words……calm and bright…..bring together our needs and hopes, our true desires.
This Advent, as Christmas approaches at speed, may you find moments of calm, giving you the chance to pause and think……so that you can then move toward celebrating the real brightness of Christmas – the good news of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. To help with this, you might like to read or listen to the daily Advent and Christmas reflections from 1 December available through the Everyday Faith app, from the Church of England, which you can download at Everyday Faith app or you might like to come and ‘be’ at one of the Advent Peace sessions in Church, or you might want to simply light a candle at home and take a moment……
May God bless you with peace and joy throughout your Advent preparations and your Christmas Celebrations, and may you know that you are loved and treasured by your maker.
With love in Christ, Rev Chris
Rev Chris
The Huntspill News
The Huntspill News is now available in printed form or an electronic version View this month’s publication (PDF)
St Peter and All Hallows Church Heritage Project
Find out more under our Heritage Section Heritage Project and Huntspill Hub
The Benefice Church Halls
All Saints Church Hall, East Huntspill
Did you know that you can hire East Huntspill Church Hall for £25 per session? This includes heating and use of the kitchen. Ideal for children’s parties, family gatherings and other social events. Regular users £17.50 per session.
To book or for further details please contact Booking Clerk Ruth Edwards 01278 784329 easthuntspillchurchhall@hotmail.com
Holy Cross Church Hall, Mark
Mark Church Hall is a small hall with a kitchen, toilets and a stage. Perfect for meetings or a party.
To book, or for further details please ring Peter Higman on 01278 641479