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Contents
Pastoral Worker appointed
TrinityFest 2004 planned
Good Friday procession pictures
Reordering Street Parish Church - pictures
Archaeologists home in on Street Parish Church
Clearing the church for the builders - pictures
The Rector's vision of the future
The reopening of the Parish Church
Mothering Sunday pictures.
Archive page 2
Street and Walton Churches unite at Easter
Maundy Thursday and Good Friday were occasions for all Christians in Street and Walton to unite.
On Maundy Thursday we met in Street Baptist Church to share in the Lord's Supper, which Jesus instituted on a Thursday, the night before he was crucified.
On Good Friday morning almost 100 members of various Churches processed from Street Baptist Church to the Salvation Army Hall. The procession passed the Job Centre, the Friends' Meeting House, Clark's Museum, and the High Street, singing as we went. The Harvest Church provided guitarist and strong voices to lead the songs. the procession was headed by a cross carried by Harold Woodman, closely followed by our Salvation Army officer, and a visiting officer from Exeter who led the service at the end of the procession.
The road was not closed to traffic, so the procession kept to the pavements. It seems a pity that the High Street, which was closed just a few days before because of lighting works, could not be kept clear of traffic for half an hour on Good Friday.
The Meditation used at the service is available here.
Some pictures of the procession are below. Rest the mouse on a picture to see the caption.
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Archaeologists home in on Street Parish Church
The local 'Time Team', Somerset Archaeological Unit, undertook a two and a half week investigation of Street Parish Church.
The church closed at the end of March for major alterations to bring its facilities into the twentyfirst century. Uncomfortable, cramped and unlovely pews will give place to new chairs and other seating. The inadequate heating system will be replaced. The feeble lights will go, in favour of effective and atmospheric modern lighting. The unsafe wooden floor will be renewed.
Pictures here
In line with modern practice, an opportunity was given to the archaeologists to discover something of the history of the site before the new flooring is put in place. We know that the town gets its name from the Roman road that passed not far from the church. The dig did not uncover Roman remains, but one lady got back the purse she lost 40 years ago.
After the archaeologists finished, reconstruction and reordering of the church began, and will go on for about sixteen weeks, and plans are going ahead for the renewed church to be reopened by the Bishop of Bath and Wells on November 5th.
Exciting new uses for the building are being planned, including closer links with the school and college across the road, a new monthly Sunday 30 minute event for noughts to sevens and their carers, called Early Bird. Among special events being arranged are an All Saints cenebration, a Christmas concert, regular monthly concerts, and a Trinity Festival next summer.
Street Parish Church reopens
 On Wednesday 10th December the Bishop of Bath and Wells came to reopen Street Parish Church after 7 months of complete refurbishment. A large congregation came to this great occasion. To see pictures of the renewed church and what has been happening during those months, click on Changes in Street Parish Church on the right of the page.
Services are now being held in the church, including the new Sunrise! on the first Sunday of each month at 9.30 am, when young children and their parents enjoy half an hour of songs, story and drama, and go away with a small gift to remind them of the story.
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Clearing for action
A team of men under the guidance of Gary Sowerby emptied Street Parish Church in preparation for the archaeology and the re-ordering. On the left, Bob Lampert protects a commemorative plaque with plastic. There will be a lot of dust around. In the centre, Bill Burt and Gary Sowerby enjoy a well-deserved cup of coffee during their work. On the right, Abbott Whiting, the last Abbott of Glastonbury, who was dragged up the Tor before being martyred, keeps an eye on the work from his stained glass window. Rest the mouse on a picture for the title.
On Saturday 5th April another group did some heavy moving. Rest the mouse on a picture for the title.
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Rector warns future Church will be very different
John Greed told Street church members at their Annual Church Meeting on St Patrick's Day, March 17th, that the Church will not survive unless it is prepared to change radically.
A shortfall in clergy calls for more collaborative ministry. The Church is leaner, and it must become fitter. Its activities need to be more relevant to people's real needs, and it must not be content to wait for people to come to it. It must go to where people are.
Such changes would not be easy to bring about, and the hope was expressed that Street and Walton might once again have a full time Curate to assist the Rector. Another possibility was to employ a student youth worker, perhaps this autumn.
The question was raised whether the Bishops would help local churches to make these necessary changes, or if they would try to suffocate the effort to become relevant. The Rector brought the question home to the church members themselves: Are we ready to face change?
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Thursday 20th of November 2008
