This page includes various news items from the Benefice. Just click on any title bar to view the news item and download any associated document and, if there is an image, to click on it to see a larger version. Also please use the links on the right to select other news types including Pew News and Magazines.
Bishop Ruth to become interim Bishop of Liverpool
Downing Street has announced today that Bishop Ruth is to become the new suffragan Bishop of Wigan in the Diocese of Liverpool and to serve as the Interim Bishop of Liverpool. Unlike her secondment to Coventry, this will require her to lay down her role as Bishop of Taunton.
Bishop Ruth says, “I have been a bishop for almost 10 years now, serving principally in Bath and Wells, and responding in times of change here and, more recently, in Coventry. Now Archbishop Stephen has asked me to support Liverpool Diocese in their moment of need.
“I shall miss Somerset and the wonderful people and places here and, as I follow God’s call for me, I will be praying for all of you, and for all that is to come.”
Bishop Ruth’s last service in the diocese will be the Chrism service at Wells Cathedral, on Tuesday, 15 April. More details about this service will be announced shortly.
Lent Cross Challenge
This Lent, why not really open your eyes to spot the cross in the world around us, and use your creativity to make cross images from items in the home? We are adapting the diocese’s Lent Challenge to run every day on our Facebook page and would love as many people as possible to send pictures of the crosses they have seen or made. It might be crossed branches, a cross drawn in the sand, a panelled door, a hot cross bun or any other baked product, a knitted or differently crafted cross. If you use Facebook, please pop your picture in the comments after the daily Scripture verse. If you prefer, email the picture to magazine@milborneportchurches.org.uk or Whatsapp to 07813 376996. We hope to display the images in church too.
If you are not on Facebook, please use the alternatives listed above. If you do use Facebook, please ensure you have liked our St John's page. Please also like or comment on posts as they appear. I will be posting a scripture verse each day (except Sundays) in| Lent. Liking our posts ensures they are more widely seen which enables us to reach more people with news of events etc.
Linda Mumford
New Church Electoral Roll
It is now time to start a new electoral roll for the parish of Milborne Port with Milborne Wick. This means that the current roll will end and a new roll started, so that everyone in the parish who wants to be on the roll will need to apply.
To apply there is now an online application form on the Benefice website.
Bishop Michael reports on General Synod safeguarding
This week at General Synod, considerable steps were taken towards much greater independence of the Church’s safeguarding. The decision made by Synod was agreed by large majorities in each of the Synod’s houses of bishops, clergy and laity and will allow us to build on the work of parish safeguarding officers, diocesan safeguarding teams, clergy, churchwardens and others. Synod agreed:
- To establish an independent body to provide scrutiny of the Church of England’s safeguarding activities.
- The scrutiny body will be governed by an independent board overseen by an independent chair. Its staff will not be employed by the Church of England but will be employees of a separate organisation.
The role of the independent scrutiny body will be to:
- commission or deliver safeguarding inspections of dioceses, cathedrals, and possibly parish churches and other Church bodies.
- undertake a scheduled programme of thematic reviews and monitor the implementation of safeguarding policies.
- hold Church bodies accountable to meeting agreed minimum standards. It will have new powers to require compliance which will be integrated into Church laws and procedures.
- be a final and independent point of escalation for complaints about safeguarding processes.
The establishment of such an independent scrutiny body was agreed by all.
There was much more debate about whether staff of safeguarding teams employed by dioceses and cathedrals should also be employed by a separate organisation (this has been called operational independence). There was strong support for this. It also became clear, however, that making this happen in practice would require overcoming an enormous amount of complexity in terms of charity law, as well as the practical challenges of transferring staff from 85 separate bodies (the dioceses and cathedrals) into one. As a result, synod ultimately came to the view that to vote immediately for such operational independence stood a very high risk of massively overpromising and the risk of significantly underdelivering.
This led Synod to:
- agree to move with all possible speed towards the establishment of the independent scrutiny body.
- agree that much more work was needed to better understand the legal and practical requirements necessary to implement independent operational delivery of safeguarding within dioceses and cathedrals.
While I recognise and understand the concern and disappointment expressed by survivors about the decision not to move forward with full independence immediately, I feel the outcome agreed upon was necessary to ensure that such a move to independence is done with due diligence and care, without impacting on the current good safeguarding practices we have in place, as recognised this week by INEQE, the independent auditors who have been evaluating the work of Church of England dioceses. Bath and Wells Diocese is due to be audited by INEQE in April. We are looking forward to being challenged by all that the auditors will bring us and to making our churches safer as a result.
Bishop Michael, 14th February 2025
New Baby & Toddler Group
New Baby & Toddler Group – hoping to start in May 2025 in Church House from 9.30 - 11am.
Join us on Friday mornings for our brand-new Baby & Toddler Group, a welcoming space for little ones and their caregivers to connect and have fun.
We’re grateful for our wonderful volunteers, but we really need another one or two, so if you’d like to join the fun and get involved, please speak to Rev Rona.
Refreshments available.
Lent Course 2025
Starting Mon 10 March 2025 in Church House from 10-11am
A Lent group with a difference. We will be using a course called ‘The Rest is Worship’. Many of you will have heard of mindfulness or meditation, but I wonder if you knew that they are two different words for a way of quieting the mind which have ancient roots in Christianity and other religions as well?
Join us once a week for some quiet time. Lent begins on 5th March (Ash Wednesday).
Charity and Mission
During February 2025 St John's will be supporting ShelterBox. They help to provide emergency shelter and essentials to areas affected by conflict and disaster including Gaza.
Our sincere thanks to everyone who came to our Christmas services and generously donated to the loose collections. As a result we will be sending £265 each to Christian Aid and the homeless charity Arc.
The Finances of the Church of England
Save The Parish has just published Church of England financial data updated for 2023. This is the most recent financial data that has become available through the annual publishing of accounts.
The accounts reveal a shocking imbalance between Parishes and ‘Head Office’.
- The Parishes have very few assets but, mainly thanks to parishioners’ generosity, they pull in a colossal annual income of £1bn.
- The Parishes paid £315m (in 2023) to their Dioceses through the Parish Share scheme. The Dioceses spent £348m on parish ministry (also 2023) and £47m on clergy pension contributions, making £395m in total.
- The difference between parish share ‘income’ and parish ministry expenditure (£315m-£395m) is £80m (2022 was similar at £84m). Dividing that into the £574m Head Office investment income, it represents 14%. This tells us that only 14% of Head Office investment income goes directly to parishes; 86% goes elsewhere!
- Moreover, large amounts of ‘diocese’ investment income come from glebe land, which was originally donated to parishes, but transferred to dioceses for administrative reasons in the 1970s. So it should be managed by them to produce the best outcome for parishes.
Please see the Save The Parish website for more information.
A New way of Giving...
St John’s Church now has a contactless “giving station”, which can be used to make donations to church funds by using a mobile device or credit/debit card. It is situated under the hymn board, next to the lectern.
In these days of people carrying less cash, it is hoped that it will encourage people to donate when visiting the church.
New Baby & Toddler Group – Starting in May!
Join us on Friday mornings for our brand-new Baby & Toddler Group, a welcoming space for little ones and their caregivers to connect and have fun. We’re grateful for our wonderful volunteers, but we really need another one or two, so if you’d like to join the fun and get involved, please speak to Rev Rona.
Memory Lane – A Service for Those with Memory Impairment
Memory Lane – A Special Service for Those with Memory Impairment
Starting Saturday, 19th April at 4pm (and every third Saturday of the month) in Church House, we invite you to join us for "Memory Lane" – a gentle gathering of music, singing, short readings, and prayer for those living with Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or memory challenges, alongside their loved ones. Refreshments will be provided at both.
Epiphany Letter from the Archbishop of York
Mindful of the ongoing challenges facing the Church of England, I write to you, the clergy, lay ministers and people of the Church of England on this Feast of the Epiphany, trusting that with God’s guidance, we can look to the future with great hopefulness in Christ.
Epiphany House Blessing
From 5th January onwards we can 'chalk our doors' with the traditional house blessing - 20+C+M+B+25
Usually, these symbols are chalked above the house door. This tradition has biblical roots going back to the story of Moses in the Bible when the Israelites were asked to put the blood of a lamb or goat on the doorposts and above the doors of the houses.
What Do The Epiphany Symbols Mean?
The Epiphany door blessing includes the initials of the traditional names for the 3 kings, plus the numbers from the current year. The first number “20″ is for the first 2 numbers of the year, and the last number “25” is for the last 2 numbers of the year. The 3 letters are the first initial of each of the kings (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar), who, legend says, visited at this time. The “C, M, B also stands for the Latin blessing Christius Mansionem Benedicat which means “May Christ Bless this House”.
If you would like me to, I will chalk your lintel with those letters and numbers, and say a prayer of blessing. If you would prefer to do this yourself the prayer is below.
Epiphany house blessing
God of Light, bless this home.
Make it a haven of rest
for all in need of your warmth and care.
And when we go out from this place,
may we never lose sight of the
Epiphany star.
May all who enter throughout the year find love and light; for Christ has come to dwell in this home and in these hearts. Amen
Rev. Rona
Church House 100 Club
A few dates are still available. Pay £15 per year and get a chance to win a part of the £60 per month prizes! Funds go towards the upkeep of Church House.
Contact Jacquie Hall for more information on: 07740 862 823 or jacquie.hall@me.com.
Compton Pauncefoot, Blackford and Maperton Churches