Designed By All Saints Church
Sidmouth
Project Type: Single Church
Project Area: East
Project Address:
All Saints Road
Sidmouth
Postcode: EX10 8ES
Website: http://www.allsaintssidmouth.org.uk
Project History & Affiliations:
All Saints Church, built in the 1830s, is a church with a rich heritage of Bible teaching and evangelism and both are key elements of our church today. Our regular church services offer a variety of worship styles from the formal 11am service to the much more contemporary and more relaxed style of worship at our 9:30 service, which is held in our church hall. It is at the 9:30 service that the children's work takes place. All Saints currently has a regular congregation of 200 spread over 2 main services and one small 8.00am communion. Plans are well underway to completely renew the main church building after which both services will take place in the church which will then have modern audio visual capabilities, decent heating and comfortable chairs to create a welcoming and flexible environment. Our church plays an active part in the Sid Valley Team of Anglican Churches and works well with churches of other denominations within the town.
Structure & Vision of the Project:
As an Anglican Church our church is overseen by a PCC (church council) under the leadership of our Vicar, Rev. Roger Trumper. The PCC meets monthly to pray and to discuss the running of the church. At present we are engaged in a major re-ordering scheme for the main church building which we believe will strengthen our witness in the town.
Our Mission Statement is to live by the power of the Spirit as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Our aim is to have:
A passion for Jesus - expressed in worship and daily discipleship:
A passion for people - expressed in local evangelism and worldwide mission:
A passion to serve - expressed in love for one another and service in the community:
A passion for life - expressed in holiness and wholeness:
About the location of the Project:
Situated on the coast of East Devon, designated a World Heritage Site, and nestling in the Sid valley, Sidmouth is the second largest town in East Devon with a population of approx. 13500. It is one of Devon's most important historic towns, being an outstanding example of the English Coastal resort town as it developed during and after the Napoleonic wars. The town therefore contains a wealth of Regency and Victorian buildings. The town remains "unspoilt" with an attractive esplanade and safe shingle beaches. There is a good selection of shops and for a relatively small town, the clubs and facilities are excellent, with a cinema, theatre, swimming pool, sailing club, golf club, football, rugby, tennis, croquet and cricket clubs. There is also a small local hospital. Its chaplain is the Team Rector but he shares that ministry with the Team Vicars. The town can give the impression of being for the retired, but this is not so. There are many families and young people living here as the local schools bear witness. We have 4 primary schools (3 of which are church schools) including All Saints Voluntary Controlled infants school. The Team Vicar of All Saints Church is an ex-officio member of the governing body. There is also a community college with 700 + pupils.
About the youth work of the Project:
At present we have approx. 20 children ranging from 4-12 attending our "Seekers @ Saints" groups. We also have recently begun a "Messy Church" which attracts around 70 adults and children to its monthly mix of art, worship and food. However, the church has a fairly recent history of much more extensive youth work, and it is this that we are seeking to rebuild. Our vision is to have a youth and children's ministry which not only encourages and strengthens the faith of our existing children and YP but also seeks to bring the gospel to and make disciples of the many, many more outside the church. We have access into many of the schools in our town for assemblies and Christian clubs and plans for a Holiday Club this summer which should become an annual event.