News from Bemerton

The Parish of Bemerton embraces a community of over 15,000 people, most of whom live in the Bemerton Heath area to the north of the A36 Wilton Road. However, the locality of Lower Bemerton bordering on the River Nadder still retains the character of a village community, and many of its residents are conscious of their famous predecessor George Herbert.

From the Rector

Click here to see the latest message from George Herbert's current successor as Rector of Bemerton, Rev'd Simon Woodley.

Church Maintenance

After 3 years of planning, and a considerable amount of shopping around, we have finally managed to get extra heating in the St.Andrew's church. These skirting radiators quickly heat up the room and are very flexible.

In much less time, a parishioner’s suggestion of pew runners was taken up and made real. These lovely cushions are not just comfortable - they make the church somehow softer and more friendly.

See here for details of other recent maintenance work.

Monthly Services at St. Andrew's

With the cessation of regular services at St. John's, evening prayer services with hymns are being held in St. Andrew's on the first Sunday of every month. Forthcoming dates are:

• 5th May 2013 at 6.00 p.m.
• 2nd June 2013 at 6.00 p.m.
• 7th July 2013 at 6.00 p.m.
• 4th August 2013 at 6.00 p.m.
• 1st September 2013 at 6.00 p.m.
• 6th October 2013 at 4.00 p.m.

The traditional form of service from the prayer book is used. It lasts for about half an hour (no sermon).

Local Group Activities

The George Herbert in Bemerton Group meets regularly and organises a number of events each year, and bookings are now being taken for the 2013 Summer Programe. The Group is active in other ways: it has published a book and CD of specially written hymns based on Herbert's poems, and members have participated in several international George Herbert conferences.

The Bemerton Local History Society is also active in organising a programme of events throughout the year, many of which have a connection with the older buildings in Lower Bemerton such as St.Andrew's and the Old Rectory, or with past residents including George Herbert.

St. John's Church, built as a memorial to George Herbert, is now closed for regular worship due to falling congregation numbers. Bemerton Community, which operates as a registered charity, was formed to secure a future for the building through partial conversion into a community centre. A Feasibility Study has been completed, outline plans for the conversion project have been drawn up and currently the emphasis is on raising enough money for the work to proceed.

Bemerton Film Society was formed in December 2010. Monthly film screenings are normally on a Tuesday evening, and are currently taking place in Bemerton St. John Primary School.

Parish Website

The Bemerton parish website is at www.bemertonparish.org.uk., and covers the three parish churches of St. Andrew's, St. Michael's & St. John's. Here you can find out more about the ministry team, about weddings and baptisms, and about supported charities. The site includes a calendar of events for all parish activities.

This website also gives you all the latest news about the parish, and lets you catch up on missed sermons. You can also see a map of the parish, the area of which is very much the same as it was in George Herbert's day, but it includes about 100 times as many parishioners.