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The Rev Dr Paul Barton - Associate Minister
Rowdale, Ridge Road, Torquay, TQ1 4TD
Email The Rev Dr Paul Barton
A charity which tackles homelessness in rural Devon says during the Covid-19 pandemic it has been five times busier than it would be normally. The Churches Housing Action Team (CHAT), based in Tiverton, runs a foodbank and has a support and advice team who help people with housing issues, tenancy support and debt and money management. During the past year they have also been working with local schools, churches and supermarkets to deliver more than…
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With the Christmas season ending, and 2021 bringing with it a new national lockdown, many are in need of some light in their lives. Rev’d Preb. James Grier, our Diocesan Mission Enabler, has shared a simple way we can bring light to those in our communities. The idea is to simply put a light in your window for others to see as a reminder of Christmas and of Christ’s love. James says he was inspired…
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The Bishop of Exeter has welcomed the Government’s decision to allow church buildings to stay open in this current lockdown. Under the latest Government guidance, churches are permitted to remain open for communal worship and private prayer and people are allowed to leave home to attend church. Funerals and weddings can also take place in church buildings, although weddings can only happen in exceptional circumstances. Bishop Robert said “The fact that in this third national lockdown…
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Mission Sheds are support hubs for anyone involved in any form of ministry and mission across the Diocese of Exeter. They are due to be relaunched later in January 2021 but first we thought it might be helpful to explain what they are for anyone who has not heard of them before. Here, Rev’d Prebendary James Grier, Mission Enabler for the Diocese of Exeter, explains a bit more about the Mission Shed concept: I am…
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The Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Reverend Nick McKinnel, shares a New Year reflection to mark the start of 2021. At a time when there is still so much anxiety and uncertainty around coronavirus, it is a reminder that we still have good reason to be hopeful: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of…
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Churches in Plymouth have been packing and delivering hundreds of food hampers as part of a £24,000 Unicef-funded project to support families in the city who don’t have enough to eat. It’s part of Unicef’s first UK domestic emergency response in its 70-year history. Over the last few weeks church buildings including St Pancras, St Marks and Plymstock Chapel have become food warehouses with volunteers packing bags of dried goods and tins alongside Christmas items,…
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A new urban Christian community is being established in Plymouth by the Diocese of Exeter in partnership with the Lee Abbey Movement. Residents of the Small Missional Community (SMC) will live in a former vicarage owned by the Diocese of Exeter next to St Mark’s Church in Ford. Joining the new community will be the Reverend Jonathan Devereux, 29, who was previously the student pastor at St Matt’s Church in Plymouth and was ordained at…
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A Devon vicar has overcome his fear of heights to climb the 165ft spire of his church to raise funds for community outreach. The Reverend Sam Leach was joined by three other members of the leadership team to climb the steeple of St Mary Magdalene church (known as St Mags) in the centre of Torquay. A crowd turned out to watch the climb on Thursday 20 August, with dramatic drone footage captured by a member of…
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The Archdeacon of Exeter is leading an online service on Sunday 9 August, on the subject of ‘Stepping Out of the Boat.’ The Venerable Andrew Beane, Archdeacon of Exeter, said: “Perhaps we can all think of a time when we have had to take a risk, try something new, a moment when we like Peter in our Gospel Reading have had to ‘step out of the boat’, and trust God as we head out on…
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