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Some of the biggest names in Christian music are set to perform at 2012 Big Church Day Out next month. Since its inception in 2009, the event has become one of the UK’s biggest celebrations of faith and music. This year’s event takes place at ...
WORSHIPPERS at a tiny village chapel are looking forward to moving back into their renovated building in a few weeks' time. Kinsham Chapel, near Bredon, is currently undergoing essential repairs, included damp proofing, plasterboarding and redecorating. S...
TWELVE years after beginning work as a youth leader in Prestbury, Andy Macauly is moving on. The 40-year-old has decided to change jobs and will leave his role with the Prestbury and Pittville Youth (PPY) charity in August. But although it will be the end...
BOXER Nigel Benn gave a knockout performance to hundreds of people as he shared his life story. The 47-year-old was brutally honest in the talk at Trinity Church in Cheltenham, speaking of his drug-taking, suicide attempt and 16 years of cheating on his w...
A TINY congregation is pulling together to raise £40,000 to ensure its church and vital community hub will survive. The 20 members of Moreton-in-Marsh Congregational Church need to restore the deteriorating leaded windows to ensure they can c...
AN Evesham church facing a bill of more than £10,000 to replace stolen roof lead has received a donation of £2,500 from a local business. The anonymous donation is the second act of goodwill All Saints Church in Evesham has experienced since t...
BIDFORD Baptist Church has formally opens its new centre, theBarn, in Waterloo Road, Bidford. The 10,000sq ft building has been renovated and redesigned from its former use as Bungo's Barn, a popular children's attraction which closed last summer. TheBarn...
A CHURCH stalwart has been given the Wulfstan Cross for his work within the Diocese of Worcester. John Bailey is only the second person to receive the cross, given to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the life of the Church. Mr Bailey ser...
LIGHTS, dry-ice, rock bands and a sports cage – not your average Friday night at Gloucester Cathedral. The centuries-old building provided an unlikely backdrop to a night of rock music and other fun and games. Rock the Cathedral attracted hundreds o...
NEARLY 900 songs were played on a 100-year-old church organ in a music marathon. The 12-hour recital took place at Cheltenham's Cambray Church and was the brainchild of organist David Tingley, who wanted to play every hymn in a new song book called Praise...
A WORCESTER church-goer who is planning to open a food bank in the city has been visited by shadow cabinet member Mary Creagh to discuss her plans. The meeting took place at All Saints Church in Deansway, Worcester, which is the host church for the projec...
IT was a different kettle of fish for visiting bishops when they met Cheltenham Street Pastors in St Paul's. The Bishop of Gloucester, The Rt Rev Michael Perham, was joined by Bishop Saddock Makaya from the diocese of Western Tanganyika and Bishop Mary Cr...
WELL over 350 people gathered at Pershore Abbey to remember a man of great Christian faith who was awarded the MBE for his long an exemplary work as a tax inspector. John Gosney, who died on January 21 aged 81, was a stalwart member of Pershore Baptist Ch...
CRIMINAL masterminds are coming to a Cheltneham church. Friends of St Mary's, Pretsbury, are converting the building in Mill Street into a cinema for one night only. And they will be showing classic Ealing comedy The Lavender Hill Mob to help raise funds ...
LOVE will be in the air at St Matthias Church when Malvern Male Voice Choir launches its 90th anniversary year by performing a joint concert with the Malvern Christian Witness Choir. Just after Valentine’s Day, the two choirs will perform a c...
FAMILIES have been flocking to church events and activities in Prestbury, Cheltenham. A toddler group at the United Reformed Church in Deep Street has reached bursting point, leaders have said. Daniel Papworth, team vicar at St Mary's, admitted record num...
LOCAL churches joined forces and took to the stage for a special event to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A cast of 20 from the Anglican, Baptist and Roman Catholic churches in Upton-upon-Severn impressed an crowd of more than 50 with a...
FAMILIES and people struggling with their finances are being offered a lifeline of support in the form of a new debt counselling service in Worcester. National charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is set to open its first centre in the city this weeke...
BIDFORD Baptist Church has signed a deal to move into a new location in the village after the congregation outgrew its former home at the Crawford Memorial Hall. As a result, the hunt has been on to find a new home and last week a rental agreement was mad...
A CHURCH in Malvern has been given £40,200 of lottery money to restore its organ. All Saints Church, the Wyche, has received the grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as a further £10,000 from the Church Buildings Council. The gr...
A YOUNG woman who has been appointed to head up children's work in two Baptist churches has a big vision for the young people in her care. Anna Perkins says she wants to see a generation of children and young people to grow up caring more abou...
TRIBUTES have been paid to a family man who devoted much of his life to Christian service. Douglas Bell, who died in Evesham Hospital on December 19 at the age of 84, was well known in Christian circles throughout the Vale of Evesham and north Glou...
A COLOURFUL curate is brightening up the lives of her congregation by sporting an unusual hairdo. The Rev Ruth Fitter has pink flecks in her hair and says it is a representation of God's love. The 42-year-old started dying her hair after she went grey in ...
OLD acquaintances are joining together to celebrate Scotland's favourite son. Churches in Prestbury, Cheltenham, are organising a Burns Night celebration next month with their neighbours in Swindon Village and Uckington. The night has been arranged by the...
TWO schoolfriends have been presented with an award after performing a carol which one of them composed. Jess Waterhouse wrote the music and lyrics to Born is the King (Wise Men), which she accompanied her friend and singer Georgia Wheatley on keyboards i...
A CHURCH project has been given £100,000 to help people living in one of Worcester’s most deprived areas. The Tolladine Church Mission was one of 10 initiatives across the country receive a share of £1 million from the Archbishops’...
CHURCH leaders hope to reach out to the Prestbury community by praying for a different street every day throughout December and January. The local ministry team has drawn up a list of street names and dates. It started with New Barn Lane, Avenue and Close...
PATIENTS spending the holiday season at Cheltenham General Hospital are being given a musical Christmas treat. Carollers will be aiming to raise the spirits of the poorly as they make their way around the wards. The activity is being run by the hospital's...
DONKEYS and sheep will be braying and baaing their way through an special Christmas service. Elim Christian Centre in St George's Road, Cheltenham, is holding its Living Nativity. The church production include all the farmyard animals in its annual celebr...
THE growing economic crisis has prompted plans to open Cheltenham's first foodbank for people in short-term crisis. The Elim Christian Centre in St George's Road is preparing to open a foodbank in the new year, following similar initiatives in Gloucester,...
A COTSWOLD church is opening its doors to passers-by as it launches a "care cafe" tomorrow (Saturday). Chipping Campden Baptist Church is offering visitors free home-made soup and light refreshments, which will be served from noon to 2pm. ...
STREET pastors will be stepping up patrols over the Christmas season to help drunken revellers who overdo the festive cheer. The scheme, which is approaching its two-year anniversary, will see volunteers hit the town centre on Christmas Eve and New Year's...
AN explosive musical that gets to the heart of Christmas is coming to the Playhouse Theatre in Cheltenham at the end of this month. Rock Nativity, a fun and thought-provoking take on the most festive of all stories, is a song-and-dance spectacular written...
A TRAVEL agent from Bidford has turned his hand to writing a musical production billed as "an emotional roller coaster ride" which he says could change people's lives. Forty-five-year-old Mark Foster's production "Stories from a Broken World" is bein...
AN 87-year-old man has become the oldest person to be baptised at a Worcester church. Les Jenkins was baptised at St Peter’s Baptist Church during Sunday’s morning service.Mr Jenkins, who lives in St Peter’s, declared his commitment to C...
A BOOK has been published chronicling the 134-year history of a church community in Whaddon. Jonathan Hunt, former preaching elder at the Evangelical Free Church, in Whaddon Road, has released the glossy paperback following months of research. Featuring s...
KEEPING Stratford safe at night is the aim of a new Street Pastor scheme being launched in the town.The initiative, supported by local churches, is set to be launched later this month and will see a group of volunteers patrol the streets of Stratford from...
WORSHIPPERS in Worcestershire marked the 150th anniversary of the publication of the book of Hymns Ancient and Modern with a hymn crawl – not round pubs but churches. Stephanie Mocroft and the Rev Louise Grace were the masterminds behind the event. ...
CHILDREN from St Andrew’s First School in Evesham have donated food to the charity kitchen at Evesham Christian Centre. Pupils presented Diane Bennett, who runs the kitchen, with their harvest collection recently. The kitchen runs two weekly cafes...
CHURCHGOERS in Cheltenham are making preparations for a visit by the BBC's Songs of Praise team. The show will be recorded at All Saints Church in November during two services on a date to be confirmed. One programme will be shown on the second Sunday in ...
A WORCESTER church is holding a special “family experience” service, complete with ventriloquist. St Peter’s Baptist Church is building on the success of last month’s Back to Church Sunday national campaign by holding a special Fam...
MEMBERS of the church community are lending a helping hand to prepare the new office for Upton Parish Church and churches in the surrounding villages. They have been hard at work painting and decorating a premises in High Street to replace the former offi...
"HIDDEN" poverty in the affluent north Cotswolds has prompted churches to organise a lifeline. Naunton Baptist Church is to set up a food bank to help families in short-term crisis who can't afford to eat. Under the auspices of Christian organisation The ...
A NEW rural vicar is taking on several parishes in Worcestershire. Reverend Christopher Moss, who is currently vicar of Longdon, Castlemorton, Bushley and Queenhill with Holdfast, has been appointed Rural Dean of Upton. The deanery includes five benefices...
FESTIVAL fortnight is fast approaching for a Cheltenham church. Leaders at St Michael's, in Severn Road, Whaddon, are planning a two-week schedule of events to celebrate the church's place in the community. Starting on Monday, it will include talks, a con...
PEDAL power will be fuelling four parish ministries around the Vale after cycling enthusiast Rev Debbie Forman was announced as the new minister. Rev Forman, who was ordained three years ago, has become the new priest in charge of Pebworth, Dorsington, Ho...
A BLUE plaque has been unveiled to honour the life and work of a Pershore church minister. The Pershore Civic Society Blue Plaque has been installed outside the Baptist Manse in Broad Street, Pershore, in honour of the Rev John Ash. It was the first plaqu...
A BOOK by a former Malvern vicar has been published posthumously and is now available from the Lyttelton Well in Malvern The book, John 17 the Prayer of Jesus, by Graham McNamee, is about one of the most important prayers in the Bible. Mr McNamee and his ...
MINISTERS and pastors from churches across Worcester have paid tribute to a “caring and wise” elder statesman of the church. Dr Douglas Calcott died on Sunday, August 28, aged 90 years. He leaves behind his wife Elizabeth, sons Christopher a...
THE Bishop of Worcester will be doing a sponsored tour of all 20 churches in the Stourport area as part of the Historic Churches Trust annual cycle ride on Saturday. He will be joined by the Rev Robert Barlow, vicar of Teme Valley South, who proposed the ...
TWO parishioners have embarked on an epic journey today to help a little church with a big heart. Jason Bryant and Kieron Davies have begun a 75-mile trek from Southwark Cathedral in London to Canterbury Cathedral to raise £30,000 for Charlton Kings...
FAMILIES in need are being paired up with support workers and charities thanks to a new scheme by a Cheltenham church. Trinity Church, on Winchcombe Street, is hoping to attract more people to its Family Tree service. It runs a number of activities on a w...
AN ancient Droitwich Spa church has renewed an appeal to raise funds for vital repair work after the building was targeted by metal thieves. St Peter’s Church, St Peter’s Church Lane, has been forced to redirect £20,000 of savings toward...
A VICAR who enjoyed almost 20 years working behind bars in a break from his vocation is preparing to give his last sermon on Sunday. Reverend Barry Collins will give his final service at St Peter’s Church in Bengeworth this weekend as he retires aft...
CHURCH members have welcomed back a historic scroll which has been returned to Cheltenham more than 100 years after it was presented to its vicar. The Reverend Edward Cornfield was the first priest at Stephen's Church in Stephen's Road, after it was built...
EVESHAM Methodist Church minister Caroline Homan has stepped down from her role after five years. The Methodist Church routinely moves on its ministers and Ms Homan will be relocating to Birmingham in order to continue her duties at churches in the Selly ...
HOMELESS people in Cheltenham will soon be offered hot showers, clean clothes and support programmes when a new resource centre is opened later this year. Trinity Church, in Fairview, has invested £40,000 of its own money into refurbishing an indust...
AS The X-Factor comes upon us once more, a local choir is running its own, friendlier version. Malvern Christian Witness Choir, now in its 30th year, wants to bolster its numbers to meet its commitment of around 10 public engagements ever year. But why ar...
AN ELVIS Presley tribute act with a twist is coming to Chipping Campden this autumn. Former Redditch vicar Andy Kelso, who now spends his spare time performing his Elvis gospel act, is taking to the stage of Chipping Campden School on Saturday, September ...
A FORMER church youth worker from Tewkesbury is embarking on a new life in London after being ordained into the ministry at St Paul's Cathedral. Chris Fox, aged 31, moved to Tewkesbury when he was eight and attended Tewkesbury School. After st...
A MISSIONARY who set up a child crisis centre in Uganda to save the lives of abandoned babies has visited a Tewkesbury church to tell of her "remarkable" work. Jenny Green is linked to Holy Trinity Church and made a three-week flying visit ...
AN actress who set up a ladies' dance class in a Cotswold town says it has become more like a family than a normal dance class. Susie Wiltshire from Mickleton has appeared in a wealth of roles on TV, radio and stage under her maiden na...
A MOTHER whose youngest son committed suicide seven years ago has written a book she hopes will help other families cope with suffering and grief. Jackie Slough lives in Moreton-in-Marsh with her husband Alan and son James, and the cou...
AFRICAN visitors to Prestbury will be wrapping up against the Cheltenham chill when they visit the village. Generous members of St Mary's Church have ...
THE organiser of a charity event being held in Malvern at the weekend is looking for donkey owners to take part. The Rev Val Needham is...
IS your voice deserving of a wider audience? Then members of St Mary's Choir in Prestbury, Cheltenham, want to hear from you. The group, which rehears...
THREE Methodist preachers from Malvern have been commended for their long service. Mo Brown and Jack Rolls, both from Lansdowne Crescent Methodist Chu...
THE Bretforton Silver Band will hold a charity concert at St Leonards Church, Bretforton, on Saturday, October 29, from 7.30pm. All money raised will...
A SHOEBOX filling workshop for this year’s Operation Christmas Child appeal will be taking place in Upton Baptist Church Hall at 9.30am on Frida...
ANIMALS will hog the stage when the story of Noah’s Flood is told in the Cotswolds. Noyes Fludde, a one-act play by Benjamin Britten, will be p...
MALVERN’S two United Reformed Churches, Holly Mount and Malvern Link, have joined forces with Worcester URC to form a team pastorate. On Saturda...
EVESHAM Methodist Church has welcomed a new minister following the departure of Rev Caroline Homan last month. Picking up where her predecessor of fiv...
ST Mary’s Church in Sherrards Green Road, Malvern, will be helping those in need with a harvest distribution project. The church will be open a...
FAMILY time gets messy at a Worcester church this autumn. St Peter’s Baptist Church’s monthly Messy Church mornings have proved a huge hit...
A CHANCE to re-write the bible by hand has come to Gloucestershire. The People's Bible – a nationwide project – is visiting Cheltenham and...
VOLUNTEERS from across Europe descended on Tewkesbury Abbey to tidy up the historic building. Cathedral Camps, an organisation which spends the summer...
A NEW rector is set to take over at Bourton-on-the-Water. The Reverend Rachel Rosborough will lead St Lawrence Church. An induction ceremony is being ...
THE United Reformed Church in Malvern Link will be opening the Sonshine Cafe again on Sunday, August 21. This family-friendly, informal café-s...
VILLAGERS around Bredon Hill are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible with a special exhibition. The exhibition at St Giles Chur...
REV Susan Renshaw, the vicar of Eckington and Defford cum Besford, has now been appointed Rural Dean of Pershore. The Rural Dean role is one of pastor...
SINGERS raised the roof – and plenty of cash – at a charity concert in aid of victims of the famine in east Africa. Members of the Churchd...
ACCLAIMED artist PJ Crook MBE will be supporting a new festival in Bishop's Cleeve. St Michael & All Angels Church will stage a Creative Arts Fest...
A NEW musical will help to raise funds for a church roof next month. The Malvern Christian Witness Choirs present Two Sisters and a Funeral by Roger ...
PARISHIONERS from Bishop's Cleeve have raised £350 to help an African minister travel around his diocese. The congregation at St Michael's and A...
THE 400th anniversary of the King James Bible is being commemorated at Worcester Cathedral. The exhibition outlines the story of the world-famous...
BIRTHDAY bells have been ringing for one Cheltenham church as it celebrates a landmark anniversary. St Christopher's Church in Lincoln Avenue, Warden ...
AN amazing £300,000 restoration of St Laurence's Church at Wyck Rissington has been achieved by villagers pulling together. The project, involvi...
A CHURCH in Worcestershire has had its funding prayers answered after receiving a grant of £20,000. Severn Waste Services gave the money to St J...
A CLOSED down Cotswold church is being specially opened to host a Bible reading. St Nicholas Church at Saintbury, near Broadway, which held its l...
WHAT do Elvis Presley, the Worcester Warriors, a vicar and a biker have in common? The answer is Andy Kelso, a former Redditch vicar and Elv...
PERSHORE Baptist Church was packed on the afternoon of Saturday, June 18th, at a service to celebrate the ordination of one of its members into the Ch...
