Are you the person to become part of our family, to encourage us to fulfil our mission and ministry and guide us in spiritual growth, prayer and discipleship? We ask you to prayerfully consider coming to serve with us in our Benefice and to become an increasing blessing to our community. The Benefice is comprised of the Parish of Bedale with Burrill and the adjacent smaller parishes of Leeming and Thornton Watlass. Surrounded by stunning countryside, we have good schools and amenities and beautiful historic churches. St. Gregory’s Church You can find out more about us by visiting our website: www.bedale.church THE BENEFICE OF BEDALE WITH BURRILL, LEEMING AND THORNTON WATLASS PAGE 1 The Benefice We are in the Deanery of Wensley in the Episcopal Area of Ripon in the Diocese of Leeds. A Benefice of four churches: Bedale with Burrill, Leeming, and Thornton Watlass, each having their own PCCs. Our patrons are: The Bishop of Leeds Sir Henry Njers de la Poer Beresford-Pierse Sir David Smith-Dodsworth The Incumbent of the Benefice of Kirklington with Burneston and Wath and Pickhill. Gridlines are 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) apart “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” Proverbs 16:9 THE BENEFICE OF BEDALE WITH BURRILL, LEEMING AND THORNTON WATLASS PAGE 2 Socio-Economics and Worship in the Benefice Employment and prosperity Worship in the Benefice Because of the close proximity to the A1, people in We offer a range of services across the Benefice to the Benefice find employment largely in nearby appeal to a wide variety of worshippers. We want towns and cities although there is significant rural people of all ages and traditions to be able to find employment. There is an expanding industrial services that are meaningful and helpful for them. estate at Leeming Bar. Each Sunday, in at least one of the churches in the Though many of the population are reasonably Benefice, we hold a Eucharistic service. prosperous, there are areas where unemployment and food poverty are a problem and the Food Bank has been a valuable support. All the churches in the Benefice contribute to the Food Bank operated by Hambleton Foodshare Schools These include: Bedale C of E Primary School On the second Sunday of the month in Bedale we Aiskew, Leeming Bar C of E Primary School have our all-age Worship at Ten which is a non- Thornton Watlass C of E Primary School Eucharistic service designed to encourage families Several independent nursery schools and day and first-time churchgoers. On the first three care centres Sundays of the month there is an evening service Mowbray School, a co-educational special and on the first Sunday in the month there is an 8 needs school a.m. Holy Communion. Services are also held Leeming and Londonderry Community Primary during the week on Monday and Thursday School mornings. Bedale High School On the second Saturday, usually to coincide with The churches in the Benefice have good Worship at Ten, we have L.I.G.H.T. (Life in God, relationships with all the church schools. The clergy team lead Collective Worship in schools and host Hope in Tomorrow) Church held in our Chantry special school occasions in church. The Family Hall and designed for families with children. This Worker is developing positive relationships with the comprises of arts, crafts, baking, singing and schools, offering activities to support the children's stories from the Bible. For many families this is spiritual development. This has been received ‘their church’, especially for those who are positively by both staff and children. reluctant to make it through the church doors. Healthcare Thornton Watlass holds a service every Sunday, As well as a General Practice and a Health Centre, Leeming on two Sundays a month and Burrill on there are several residential homes, one adjacent the fourth Sunday of the month. Whenever there to the church, retirement homes and sheltered is a fifth Sunday in the month, there is a United accommodation in the Benefice. There are two Benefice Service held in one of the churches when dental practices, one optician and two pharmacies we endeavour to bring all of the congregations in Bedale and the nearest hospital is in together. This is something we would wish to Northallerton. develop. See page 4 for a list of our services. THE BENEFICE OF BEDALE WITH BURRILL, LEEMING AND THORNTON WATLASS PAGE 3 Our Services United Benefice Service at Burrill Mission Church THE BENEFICE OF BEDALE WITH BURRILL, LEEMING AND THORNTON WATLASS PAGE 4 Bedale Bedale forms the heart of the Benefice and is where the largest concentration of people is found. The twelfth century church of St. Gregory is It is a thriving Georgian market town at the located at the northern end of the market gateway to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales with a history that stretches back to before the Domesday place and is one of the finest examples of a Book. It is a vibrant community with unique shops, fortified tower in the north of England. scenic local walks, attractions for all the family and many amenities and opportunities for contributing to the life of the town. It attracts a lot of tourists and visitors. It has a railway station on the preserved Wensleydale Railway which was re-opened in 2003 as a heritage railway between Leeming Bar and Redmire, a Golf Club founded in 1892 with a course played over a challenging 18 holes set in wooded parkland, and a Brass Band with a 25-year history of providing musical education and entertainment for the local community. It holds a market every Tuesday on the cobbles that line the market place and has a leisure centre with full gym, swimming pool and astro-turf sports pitches. Bedale Athletic Sports Association provides football, cricket, hockey, squash and Clubs, Societies and Organisations in Bedale include: tennis. The Big Sheep Little Cow farm, a petting Bedale Leisure Centre, Bedale Athletic Sports zoo, is adjacent to the local railway line and Bedale Association, Bedale Bowling Green Society, Bedale Beck. Town Association Football Club, Bedale Junior Junction 51 of the A1(M) is just over a mile away Football Club, Bedale Golf Club, Bedale and Aiskew giving easy access to Durham, Newcastle and Runners, Bedale Cricket Club, The Bedale Hunt, Teesside to the North and East, and Ripon, Bedale Allotment Society, Bedale Archaeology and Harrogate, York and Leeds to the South. History Society, Bedale Scouts and Guides, Bedale The nearest mainline railway station is at Brass Band. Northallerton. THE BENEFICE OF BEDALE WITH BURRILL, LEEMING AND THORNTON WATLASS PAGE 5 The Benefice Churches St. Gregory’s Church, Bedale The church of St. Gregory is the main church in the Benefice of Bedale. A Grade I Listed Building, the present structure dates back to the latter part of the twelfth century with further restoration work having taken place over the last 800 years. Located at the northern end of the Market Place it is a prominent feature of the town and the main tourist attraction. The fortified tower was built as a place of refuge against the Scots in 1330 to protect the townsfolk from marauding forces and is a rare example of one built for defence rather than for decorative purpose. The Lady Chapel, used regularly for our shorter said BCP services, has a beautiful east window that is believed to have been transported from Jervaulx Abbey after the dissolution. The Reredos located in St. George’s Chapel is elaborately carved with figures of the six saints (Paulinus, Aidan, Wilfred, Gregory, Oswald and Cuthbert) who were specifically connected with the spread of Christianity in the North. Close by is the richly carved pulpit, dedicated in 1908, depicting scenes from the life of St. Gregory. Robert Thompson of Kilburn made the Choir Stalls in 1948 and these are decorated with his well-known mouse. In 1926 extensive repair and restoration exposed some medieval wall paintings, the most notable being the image of a left-handed St. George fighting the dragon. This was repainted in 1931 by a London restorer as a reproduction of the original. Just inside the churchyard gates is a small Grade II Listed cottage building dating from 1674 that was originally used as a free grammar school. In 1888 a new grammar school was built in the town and so this building fell into disuse. It now houses the Parish Office run by the Benefice Administrator. Open between 9 a.m. and 12 noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, administrative tasks such as all the necessary paperwork and liaison for baptisms, weddings and funerals are carried out here as well as rota management, answering general enquiries and printing and distribution of the weekly Bulletin and quarterly magazine. THE BENEFICE OF BEDALE WITH BURRILL, LEEMING AND THORNTON WATLASS PAGE 6 The Benefice Churches St. Gregory’s Church, Bedale (continued) We have an annual Civic Remembrance Service when we gather together at the Grade II listed War Memorial within the church grounds. Erected in 1920, this bears the names of 46 men who died in the First World War and 21 from the Second. Frank Hall, son of the Bedale stonemason who did the engravings on it, is one of those listed from the Second World War. The closed churchyard has been administered since the early 1980s by Bedale, Aiskew, Leeming Bar and Burrill Joint Burial The War Memorial in front of St. Gregory’s Church Authority. St. Gregory’s receives over 10,000 visitors per year through its church and grounds with many of them participating in our Teddy Bear Trail.