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 Lent and Easter Community Gatherings 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 8th February Fun Race Night, East Huntspill
Experience the thrill of the races during an evening filled with excitement and laughter.
Doors open 7pm. 1st race 7.30
£7.50 per person including light refreshment. Bring your own drink.
To book a ticket please email allsaintscommunitygroup@outlook.com
Wednesday 19th February The Bible Course 2nd Sessions, East Huntspill
3pm to 4pm and 7pm to 8.30pm Wednesday 19th February
All Saints Church, Church Road, East Huntspill TA9 3QQ
New to the Bible or want to go deeper? The Bible Course is for you. It shows how the key books, famous characters and epic events form one BIG story, from Genesis to Revelation. The course also provides tools and skills that help apply the Bible to everyday life.
This eight-session course is ideal for groups. Each session includes video content, discussion time, personal reflection and daily readings. Explore the BIG story and discover its relevance for today.
For more information or to book your place, email markchurchbiblecourse@gmail.com or contact Yo on 07725 149581.
Visit biblesociety.org.uk/thebiblecourse to find out more.
Lent and Easter Services
Ash Wednesday 5th March, Holy Communion with Ashing
Remember that you are dust…
and to dust you shall return.
9.30am Holy Cross Church, Mark
7pm St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
Lenten Peace
30 minutes of quiet, in a candle lit church
No service, no hymns, no sermon, just peace
A time to be…
6.30pm-7pm Tuesday 11th March Holy Cross Church, Mark
6.30pm-7pm Tuesday 18th March St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
6.30pm-7pm Tuesday 25th March Holy Cross Church, Mark
6.30pm-7pm Tuesday 1st April St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
Mothering Sunday Services 30th March, Flowers for Mums
9.30am Holy Cross Church, Mark
11.15am St Peter & All Hallows, West Huntspill
3.00pm All Saints Church, East Huntspill
Services for Holy Week 14th April – 19th April
7pm Monday Said Communion ~ All Saints Church, East Huntspill
7pm Tuesday Communion ~ St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
9.15am Wednesday Communion ~ Holy Cross Church, Mark
7pm Maundy Thursday Light Supper with Informal Communion St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
Good Friday ~ Village Pilgrimage
12noon St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
1.15pm All Saints Church, East Huntspill
2.30pm Holy Cross Church, Mark
7pm Holy Saturday Service of Light St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
Easter Day Sunday 20th April, Holy Communion with traditional Easter Egg Hunt
9.30am Holy Cross Church, Mark
11.15am St Peter & All Hallows Church, West Huntspill
3.00pm All Saints Church, East Huntspill
Community Gatherings
Come along to one of our socials for a coffee, cake and chat. For further information Community Gatherings and Huntspill Hub
Daily 10am- 4pm, Huntspill Hub Honesty Café
Monday 10.30 -12noon, Coffee Morning, West Huntspill
Tuesday 10.00-12noon, Craft and Chatter, Mark
Wednesday 10.30-12noon, Coffee Morning, Mark
Saturday 10.30-12noon, Coffee Morning, East Huntspill
3rd Saturday 10.30-12noon Monthly Cake Sale, East Huntspill
News
For a snapshot of village life, check out Gallery: East Huntspill Gallery: West Huntspill Gallery: Mark
Licensing of Rev Margaret Hayward service held at All Saints, East Huntspill
Freda Carey visits East Huntspill
Freda Carey, of the Church Mission Society, visited East Huntspill Church and gave us all an in sight in to her work in Pakistan.
All Saints Church, East Huntspill decorating completed
Check out the video for a views of All Saints you don’t normally see and more in our gallery! Gallery: East Huntspill
Ashley Fox MP visits Huntspill Hub, West Huntspill
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 three Churches.
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,
February 2025 ‘Change and Hope’
I wonder how you feel about change? Is it something that excites you or wearies you? Do you feel a longing that ‘so called’ progress would slow down? Or are you easily bored by the constant, and delight in the new? I guess we are all different, and that our answers may depend on a host of factors.
Through 2025 our benefice of ‘The Huntspills & Mark’ will be moving toward a change. From 1st January 2026, Mark will join with the parishes of The Isle of Wedmore (Allerton, Blackford, Wedmore and Theale) to form a new benefice (with their current Vicar, Rev Richard Neill), and East and West Huntspill will form a smaller benefice (with myself as Rector, reducing to a part-time post). This change is happening as a result of cut-backs to the clergy numbers across the Bath and Wells Diocese, due to the reduction in financial support from the parishes. Consultations have been extensive, and although this is not a change that we have sought, in the circumstances it seems the right way forward.
In the light of this, I have two main thoughts, and a bonus, to share with you. Firstly, as Max De Pree, American businessman and writer, once said: ‘Change without continuity is chaos.’ Through 2025 we will be working hard to ensure that the change we face is carefully managed to provide as smooth a transition as possible. At the same time, we need to recognise that change is not necessarily a bad thing. De Pree went on to say: ‘Continuity without change is sloth – and very risky.’ The Christian faith is all about transformation and change, and it is filled with hope. I pray that we may all be open to the opportunities that this change will bring, looking forward to the future, knowing that the God we believe in is trustworthy and true.
My second thought concerns the direction of travel that this change may represent. In the past, church attendance was viewed as compulsory and the church was supported by the majority of people in each community, thus ensuring its future. I’m pleased that we’ve lost the compulsory attendance element, as I’d far rather people came because they want to, but I shall be deeply saddened if we lose the presence of the church in any of our villages. I hope and pray that the church (the history it holds, the current role it performs and its opportunities for future development) is valued sufficiently by each village for the villagers to commit to its livelihood and safeguard it for the future. If you already contribute to the upkeep and running of your church – thank you. If you are able to review your commitment and maybe increase it a little, that will be very helpful – all gifts (regular, periodical and one-off) make a difference. If this is something you haven’t done yet, please do consider it. Let’s make sure that the reduction in clergy-time, for each of our churches, that we are facing at the end of this year does not have to happen again.
And the bonus? Well, just in case you haven’t yet heard, I am delighted to inform you that on 22nd January 2025 Rev Margaret Hayward was licensed to our benefice. Margaret is an Ordained Self-Supporting Minister (O.S.S.M.), who is gifting us one or two days’ ministry a week, around her other commitments. She ministered in Burnham Parish a while ago, and more recently in Kewstoke & Wick St Lawrence. Her ministry will be a blessing to all three of our villages as we transition into the future. We welcome her and look forward to all that God will do through her and through us all.
May you know the blessing of the God who loves you beyond measure and who calls you into fullness of life, through every change you are facing.
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
Balliol Hall, West Huntspill
The Hall is available for hire to members of the public and is a fantastic venue for events and occasions, such as parties, fund raising events, meetings, wedding receptions, indoor sports, clubs etc.
Its position right next to the Church makes it particularly convenient for refreshments before or after events at the Church.
There are two function rooms, the Main Hall and the School Room, as well as modern kitchen facilities.
For more information visit The Balliol Hall
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