St John the Baptist, Sampford Peverell

“We want you to find a welcome with open arms irrespective of age, colour, nationality, physical and cognitive ability, economic status, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression.“

Our PCC members were also in favour of our church being used as a space for the Prayers of Love and Faith, within services, in accordance with the agreed Church of England rules.

St John the Baptist Church,
Sampford Peverell EX16 7BP

Churchwardens:
Vivienne Heeley 01884 822936
James Wakefield 07966 660604

Every Thursday
1st, 2nd & 3rd - 9.00am Morning Prayer,
4th - 9.00am Holy Communion

LATEST NEWS

SAMPFORD PEVERELL APCM - 8TH MAY 2025. 7.30 PM IN CHURCH EVERYONE WELCOME

Here are the reports for the last year.

Collated Reports 2025 SP.pdf

Annual Report & Financial Statement to 31 December 2024 (1).pdf

STATIONS OF THE CROSS AT SAMPFORD - March 2025

Some of the children of Sampford Peverell School drew some excellent - and powerful - pictures, depicting the Stations of the Cross. These pictures formed part of their end of term Easter Service were on display in church for everyone to see.

MESSY LEGO CHURCH MARCH 2025

On Sunday 23rd March a large number of families came along for Lego Messy Church. Lego expert, Julian, from www.brickideas.co.uk brought dozens of boxes of Lego for everyone to use. After hearing parts of the Easter Story the children used their imaginations to recreate scenes in Lego.

Getting ready for our new Rector - March 2025
The service on the Sunday before Rachel's Induction was at Sampford Peverell was led by Archdeacon Andrew Beane. This was the last service of the Vacancy and he praised the hard work done by Church Wardens, and in particular, Revd Christopher Rowley, during the last 10 months, in keeping everything going. At the end of the service he took this picture, with everyone raising a hand in greeting to Rachel!

DECEMBER AND CHRISTMAS 2023

December was a busy month, starting off with Discovery, led by Charlotte Wakefield, who helped everyone make Advent Wreaths. Two weeks later the church was packed for the Carol Service. The Sampford Singers and Sampford School Choir provided musical items. Then on Christmas Eve it was standing room only for the Crib Service, followed by the quieter Midnight Communion at 11.30pm.

DISCOVERY

The Village Carol Service

Crib Service

NOVEMBER - BLUNDELLS MUSIC SCHOLARS' CONCERT
A group of Yr 9 and Yr 13 Music Scholars gave a very enjoyable concert in church. There was a variety of instruments and styles, showcasing scholars' progress on their musical journey.

OCTOBER - HARVEST BREAKFAST and FESTIVAL
A full English breakfast was enjoyed on the Saturday before the Harvest Festival. A delicious smell of bacon and eggs filled the air! Money raised was in aid of Christian Aid and children from the school brought in tins and packets for CHAT.

Baptism and Confirmation

In September relatives and friends gathered at Steph Packham's swimming pool to support Aaron Foreshew as he was baptised. Aaron has been part of the congregation at Sampford Peverell since he was young and joins in by playing in the band when he can. He was then confirmed by Bishop Jacky at St Andrew's, Halberton in November.

SAMPFORD PEVERELL BRING AND SHARE LUNCH
St John the Baptist's Day was celebrated by a Bring and Share lunch in the churchyard. The weather was kind and everyone enjoyed sitting under the shade of gazebos, in the sunshine. It was a happy social gathering - and in particular the bell ringers and flower arrangers were invited to say thank you to them for their contribution to church life.

PRAYER SPACE AT ST JOHN'S

Sampford Peverell has transformed its rather untidy Lady Chapel into a welcoming Prayer Space. Hopefully people will feel able to come and have a few quiet moments and pray if they wish. This is a work in progress and will hopefully change and evolve as time progresses. Any suggestions are welcome and we hope that the school will make their own contributions as well.

CELEBRATING THE CORONATION WITH FLOWERS, A CREAM TEA AND A SERVICES OF CELEBRATION

GOOD FRIDAY 2023

Sand art, cross painting, colouring and mini Easter gardens were the activities on offer at Messy Church in St John's, Sampford Peverell on Good Friday, as well as a 'Dotty the Donkey trail around the churchyard. After hearing the Easter story everyone went out into the glorious sunshine and walked up Connigar Hill, stopping along the way to hear short readings from Mark's gospel.

OFFICIALLY FAIRTRADE

We are now, officially, a Fairtrade Church. This means that we are committed to using Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar for refreshments after services and using Fairtrade products where possible at other times. The wine used in the Team is also fairtrade. Unfortunately, Traidcraft has gone into administration after 40 years of trading. They have been instrumental in instigating fairtrade practices with small suppliers, however there are still many other ways of supporting fairtrade as many supermarkets stock these products.

In December, the Advent Wreath looked particularly beautiful. The Carol Service was well attended with contributions from The Sampford Singers and Sampford Primary School.

At DISCOVERY in November 2022 two scientists were asked questions about faith and science. Here are some of the questions, which were originally asked by Year 5/6 children at Sampford School.

WHAT CAUSED CREATION?

What created the world/universe/space? Did God create the Big Bang or did the Big Bang create God? Why do Christians believe God created the World when you don't know his true identity?

Why did God create Earth/Universe? If God created everything on Earth, does he take things away too?

UNDERSTANDING GENESIS

If heaven is above the clouds, we know that above the clouds is space - so where is heaven? There is no mention of certain things - like air/oxygen - being created by God. Were they created at the time?

SCIENCE OR FAITH OR BOTH?

Do scientists who believe 100% in the big bang, believe in any of the rest bible? Finally, if you had to put your belief on a sliding scale – going from 100% belief in the story of Genesis to 100% belief in science – where would it be?

BARNSTAPLE MALE VOICE CHOIR

In October St John the Baptist Church, Sampford Peverell hosted a very enjoyable evening with Barnstaple Male Voice Choir. They were in fine voice and sang a very varied repertoire.

The concert was followed by a light supper.

OCTOBER MESSY CHURCH
Messy Church in October took place in St John's, Sampford. The challenge was to cover your egg in enough packaging to prevent it breaking when it was dropped from the church tower. Despite forecasts of thunderstorms, the weather was kind and the drop was able to go ahead. Thanks to Rhydian, who went up the Tower and dropped the eggs. The last photo gives a good impression of how high it is! The Messy Church Facebook page has lots more photos of everyone's creations.

MESSY CHURCH PICTURES

JULY 2022
The last Messy Church of this academic year was outdoors. The families gathered at Knighsthayes and followed the Impey Walk, enjoying, and looking carefully, at God's creation. Everyone was given a card with a descriptive word written on it, and magnifying glasses. Children had to find natural objects that matched the word on the card. These photos are just a few of the many that were taken, all of which are on our Children and Families' Facebook page.

JUNE 2022

At Messy Church on Sunday 26th June, in Sampford Village hall, the story was Zacchaeus.

The theme was 'Change' and the activities explored this in many imaginative ways.

GOOD FRIDAY AT SAMPFORD PEVERELL

After hot cross buns in the Methodist Church, over 20 families came to St John the Baptist church, Sampford Peverell to make Easter Gardens, follow a trail around the churchyard and enjoy other arts and crafts. They then joined the adults who had been to a Good Friday Service at the Methodist Church and walked up Connigar Hill with the Cross. As is so often the case on Good Friday, the weather was kind.

MOTHERING SUNDAY MINI MESSY CHURCH AT SAMPFORD

A good number of families enjoyed crafts, posy-making and games, indoors and outdoors, at St John the Baptist church, Sampford Peverell, on Mothering Sunday. They also enjoyed light refreshments, including home-made Simnel cake.

MARCH MESSY CHURCH

Over 40 children and parents enjoyed Messy Church in Sampford Peverell Village Hall, where the activities were, indeed MESSY!

SAMPFORD PEVERELL ECO CHURCH

Since the spring of 2021, St John the Baptist Church, Sampford Peverell has been registered as an ‘Eco Church’ under a scheme supported by the Church of England. The scheme is run by a Christian conservation charity, A Rocha. They have been working their way through the different sections of the A Rocha 'Caring for God's Earth' Survey and are aiming (hopefully) for a bronze award. They have taken advice on how to increase the bio-diversity in both their churchyards, are considering changing their electricity provider and looking at changing to a more-eco-friendly and efficient form of heating.

In January 2022 a bee-hive, provided by bee-keeper, Katy Danby (and family) was put into the churchyard.

LAMMAS TIDE - AUGUST 2021

Lammas (Loaf Mass) Tide was celebrated at St John the Baptist, Sampford Peverell at the All Age Service. The (very delicious) loaf was baked by Alistair and everyone was given a small piece during Communion.

About the village:Sampford Peverell is a thriving village with lots going on - with societies and events for all ages. It is well-connected with a station in the village and the M5 close by. There is a Church of England Primary and Pre -School, a pub, The Globe, a Village Hall and a shop. There are sports facilities, including a cricket/football pitch and a MUGA. There is also a Methodist Church.The ChurchThe church has four services a month and Messy Church meets once a month in the Village Hall. There is a church choir to lead the services, and a small band which plays on the 2nd Sunday at the All Age Service and on 1st Sundays. The servery in the church means that events and large numbers can be easily catered for.

Safeguarding

Each of the churches within The Sampford Peverell Team Mission Community fully recognizes and accepts the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy Statement “Promoting a Safer Church 2017” and commits to complying with the current Church of England and Diocesan safeguarding policies and practice guidance. In so doing we will comply with the secular multi-agency safeguarding procedures relating to children and young people and adults experiencing or at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.
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 Church Safeguarding Representative is Mrs Vivienne Heeley;· Her contact details are Tel: 01884 829356 · 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.”

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