Welcome to Cam Vale Come and Join Us on Our Journey of Faith
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Cam Vale - Appendix II Cam Vale - Benefice Profile Welcome to Cam Vale Come and join us on our journey of faith We are pilgrims on a journey and companions on the road We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load LOOKING TO GOD FRONTLOOKING COVER HERE TO CARE LOOKING TO GROW 2 1 Cam Vale - Benefice Profile Our benefice St Barnabas church QUEEN CAMEL The benefice of Cam Vale comprises six rural parishes situated in picturesque English countryside on the Somerset/ Dorset border. We are seven miles north of Yeovil and six St Andrews miles north of Sherborne. CORTON DENHAM All Saints WEST CAMEL Panorama from Sparkford Hill Lane These lands are steeped in history. The nearby hill fort of Cadbury St Mary Magdalene Castle links us to Arthurian legend, the village of Queen Camel was a marriage gift of a Saxon King to his wife, and the Leland trail runs SPARKFORD through our fields. This is a place where farming has been the main activity for many hundreds of years. Our communities are diverse and while new houses are being built, they still retain the best of rural character. There is good access to the A303 trunk road which provides Holy Cross links to Devon and Cornwall and, via the M3, to London. WESTON BAMPFYLDE Sherborne and Castle Cary both have excellent train services to London Waterloo and Paddington stations respectively. A bus service runs from Shepton Mallet via Queen Camel to Yeovil. Locally, the historic market towns of Sherborne, Castle Cary, Wincanton and Yeovil, are all within 15 minutes’ driving time, each Holy Trinity providing a range of services including retail and leisure. SUTTON MONTIS 3 Cam Vale - Benefice Profile Looking to God Discipleship In addition to our Sunday worship we have a monthly healing service, ‘Sacred Space’, usually led by one of our Lay Readers. There are two home groups who meet Each year we run a themed Lent course When we sing to God in heaven, regularly. One is a Bible Study group which is usually well attended. led by the members; the other is an we shall find such harmony open discussion group called ‘Why For urgent prayer needs, we have a believe’ which allows people to explore ‘prayer chain’ which enables prayer questions about their faith. requests to be quickly communicated to the intercessors in the villages. We have twice hosted the two-year Worship Exploring Christianity Course, led by We would welcome new ideas to develop and enhance our discipleship. We are currently experimenting with a new pattern of services, partly to help Lay Readers in our benefice. with holidays but also to have the opportunity to worship in a slightly different way. Working together We have an evolving Ministry Team comprising Lay and clerical ordained leaders: • The Revd Prebendary Rose Hoskins (Associate Priest) • Yolanda White (Reader) • Rosemary Rymer Harvest Festival Easter Sunrise Service (Reader and Benefice Administrator) As we have for many years, we continue modern Common Worship, as well • Julie Ebsworth to hold a ‘Together at Ten’ benefice as an ecumenical service with the (Reader) now training as a Lay Pioneer service on the fourth Sunday of the Methodist church and all-age and Minister month, where we encourage everyone informal services. Each Sunday there to meet together at one of the churches is at least one communion service in in the benefice. the benefice. Our hope is that everyone will feel free to choose the type of We have a long history of training our own Lay Worship Assistants and currently On the remaining Sundays there service they prefer and move around have six working across the benefice. are four services across the benefice, the churches, meeting and making offering a range of styles of worship, new friends, and enjoying the different from traditional BCP to the more atmospheres. 4 5 Cam Vale - Benefice Profile Cam Vale - Benefice Profile There are six PCCs, each meeting on administrative requirements of the Looking to Care a quarterly basis. The Rector is not benefice. expected to chair all of these meetings Our Benefice Treasurer manages and each PCC has an appointed Lay- Our mission is to spread the Gospel in our villages and to continue to Chair for this purpose. the benefice fund to which each of the churches contribute. This fund encourage and support our existing congregations. We aim to be a supportive Our Administrator works three supports the Minister, Ministry Team community that meets people where they are and respond to their needs with mornings a week from an office based and the administrator, covering general loving service. We are making encouraging inroads in this area but there is in a local business park, where she expenditure and the cost of various still much to be done Our desire is to be witnesses to God’s work and join in provides an administrative service for courses, where appropriate. with His Kingdom. the Rector and oversees all the general I will hold the Christlight for you in the night-time of your fear I will hold my hand out to you Speak the peace you long to hear Care for our Rector and family Care for one another As our spiritual leader, the Rector can We aim to provide welcome and be assured of our total support to enable fellowship to all who come into contact him/her to fulfil their role within the with us, whether church members or Benefice. seekers or passers by. This could involve regular dialogue We provide space for quiet reflection as and communication regarding all our churches are open every day and Working Group pastoral needs within our parishes there are opportunities for conversation or assisting with issues relating to the with coffee and fellowship after most of All our churches have an general working of the Church, and our services. army of willing volunteers allowing more time to engage with our in the form of sidespersons, communities. The Rector should be Village newsletters provide information readers, chalice-bearers, flower allowed sufficient time for peace and about church and village activities and arrangers, those who clean reflection, to enjoy quality time with include details of the range of pastoral and polish and others who the family, and to go on retreat. support services provided. Some of maintain our churchyards – these are tailored for a specific group, the list is endless. for example, ‘The Leftover Club’ for widows and widowers. Others are more general and open to all. We care about making provision for A willing Volunteer our young people as they make steps in their faith journey. See at a glance in Appendix 2, the numbers on the Electoral Roll and average weekly attendance in each of our Parishes. 6 7 Cam Vale - Benefice Profile Cam Vale - Benefice Profile We are trying to create an environment Care for People in Our World in our churches that will help them feel Much of this takes the form of charitable donations either as agreed amounts from at ease as well as continuing to develop Church income or as donations or collections following services or events including our relationships with our schools. They Harvest Festivals and lunches, Remembrance Sunday or Christmas services. enjoy all-school services of celebration in church. Such contributions vary in scale from local to national and international. Within South Somerset support is given to the Lords Larder food bank and Street Pastors We have a particularly strong amongst other organisations, whereas national and international support is given relationship with our local primary to charities such as the Children’s Society, Tear Fund and Christian Aid. school and over the past few years have moved from doing the occasional assembly to having a regular Tuesday lunchtime slot. A small team share the Care for our Environment task of acting out “Open the Book” Through both the messages we give out Schemes have included planting to presentations for the children. and the actions we take, we demonstrate encourage insects as well as providing a care for God’s world as we face such habitats through bug hotels, nest boxes For many years, Camel Club for major environmental issues including and hedgehog homes. children of primary age, has met every Climate Change and habitat loss. This week during term-time to share the involves management of our buildings Within one parish, land adjacent to Christian message and engage the on such aspects of energy usage and the Churchyard has been cultivated as children in a variety of activities which use of our Churchyards with many allotments by local parishioners. link into our All-Age service. Across the Picnic in the woods initiatives coming from our younger Benefice, services are being designed to members. attract young families in particular. A recent development has been our ‘Bumps, Tots and Toddlers’ group which currently meets once a fortnight in church. This gives an opportunity for young children and their parents or carers to socialize in a Christian environment. Across the benefice we provide a range of café-style services and other types of “all-age” services specifically designed Allotment to be attractive to families. We follow up baptisms, confirmations, Bug Hotel marriages and funerals to ensure that those who visit us for these services feel that they have the continued support of Care for our Financial resources the church. Camel Club Handiwork See Appendix II 8 9 Cam Vale - Benefice Profile Cam Vale - Benefice Profile Care for our buildings St Mary Magdalene, Sparkford. St Barnabas church, Queen Camel. This Grade II* listed building is of ancient foundation and dates from fourteenth Built in the C14 and early C15 with century - the first incumbent was inducted some restoration in 1887, St Barnabas is in 1297 - although it was restored and the historically and architecturally significant – Nave rebuilt in 1824.