POINTS OF CONTACT
The Winsmoor Benefice
winsmoor.blogspot.co.uk
Rector: Rev’d Geoff Wade 01460 240228
The Rectory, Shepton Beauchamp, TA19 0LP
winsmoor2004@gmail.com
Associate Priests:
Canon Ian Gibson 01460 249566 igchichester@gmail.com
Rev’d D’ Fyfe 01460 241977
d.alastairf@virgin.net
This web-site is about the parishes of the Winsmoor Benefice, in rural Somerset; Barrington, Chillington, Cudworth, Dowlish Wake, Kingstone, Puckington, Shepton Beauchamp, Stocklinch.
We were first joined together as an eight parish group about twenty years ago when seventeen parishes were formed into the Ilminster Team Ministry with one Team Rector at Ilminster (with the Minster and Whitelackington), a Team Vicar at Broadway (with seven country parishes), and us with a Team Vicar living in Shepton Beauchamp.
In the autumn of 2011, the Team was dissolved and three independent benefice were created; we then became “Winsmoor” with Rev’d Geoff Wade as our Rector, though he has been with us since September 2004.
We are mainly quite small villages, the biggest has seven hundred or so people, whilst the smallest has forty-five. We are fiercely proud of our Benefice and all that we represent and achieve together (“No one alone”) but we are also quite pleased that we are independent of each other, having our own PCC’s and our very individual way of doing things! All our churches are well maintained and very much loved. Our finances are sound and we pay our parish share!!
Jesus said, “love your neighbour as yourself” and we try very hard to do just that.
We believe – very strongly – that we are the Christian presence at the heart of each of our communities; we work very hard to be warm, welcoming and inclusive and to build/re-build/maintain the sense of community which village life is all about.
Rector – Rev’d Geoff Wade 01460 240 228 winsmoor2004@gmail.com
Geoff was born in the city of Birmingham, but travelled around a lot as a child as his father was in the army. Main schooling was at King Charles I Grammar in Kidderminster whilst living in a village nearby. After O and A Levels, a short spell working in a nursing home led to the Royal Navy, first as a Writer Rating and finally as a Lieutenant Commander (Supply & Secretariat). After nearly twenty years service the Church called; selection in record time by the Bishop to the Armed Forces; training at Ripon College Cuddesdon; curacies in the city of Worcester and Wordsley; appointment to these parishes in September 2004, first as Team Vicar and then as Rector of the Benefice. Geoff and Alison married in September 1999; they have two children.
Associate Priest – Rev’d D’ Fyfe 01460 241977 d.alastairf@virgin.net
D was born in Hove, because her mother happened to be there at the time – living with D’s grandparents nearby, while her father, who was in the Royal Air Force, was in the Azores. He thought I would be a son and I was to be named Patrick, after his brother. The nearest Irish equivalent turned out to be Deirdre! My father’s parents lived in the far west of Ireland and I spent many happy holidays there. We travelled a lot and despite spending 7 years at boarding school I still managed to attend 12 schools of one sort or another! In 1964 I married Alastair, who was in the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry. Our first married posting was in Berlin and our last was in Moscow, USSR. Our two children were born in Zambia, shortly after independence. Nicola is married to David and Andrew is married to Aleksandra. We have one grandchild, Arianna, who is three. When Alastair left the army we came home to Somerset. (He was born and bred in Misterton!) By mistake I became a church warden at St Michael’s Seavington – and the rest is history. Priested in 2008, I was training curate in South Petherton with the Seavingtons and then licensed there as Associate Priest. I was licensed to the Winsmoor Benefice in November 2012 and am also a Chaplain at South Petherton Hospital.
Curates:
Over the past few years Winsmoor Benefice has helped to train a number of Curates from other parishes who were in their final year of training, by hosting them for a three month "get to know rural ministry" course. Three of these four went on to become Incumbents of their own rural benefice.
In 2012 Winsmoor had its very own Curate - the first in living memory. Rev'd Chloe Kingdon and her family spent three years training with us (and training us!) before becoming Incumbent of the Quantock Villages Benefice in September 2015.
Readers:
Michael Hawkins 259909 (now licensed to the Winsmoor Benefice)
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