St Peter ad Vincula (St Peter in Chains) at Ashwater is part of the Ruby Country Benefice, with Beaworthy, Black Torrington, Clawton, Halwill, Highampton and Tetcott.

A warm welcome to all vistors to our site, whether you live in the Parish of Ashwater or in our neighbouring Parishes of Beaworthy, Halwill, Tetcott with Luffincott, Clawton, Black Torrington, Highampton, or wherever you might be. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our Vicar

Revd Dr Paul Fitzpatrick

The Bishop and patrons are pleased to announce that the Rev’d Dr Paul Fitzpatrick has been appointed as Vicar in the Ruby Country Benefice (Consisting of the parishes of Ashwater, Black Torrington, Beaworthy, Clawton, Halwill, Highampton and Tetcott).

Induction by the Bishop of Crediton took place on the 25th May 2023.

The next services at Ashwater St Peter ad Vincula and other Benefice Churches

Palm Sunday—24th March

11.00 am Holy Communion -Beaworthy Church

11.00 am United Service—Clawton Church

3.30 pm Palm Sunday Service -Highampton Village Hall

Wednesday 27th March

10.00 am Holy Communion with Stations of the Cross & Quiet Reflection finishing with a soup lunch at 1pm

—Black Torrington Church

Maundy Thursday — 28th March 7.00 pm

Maundy Thursday Service with Holy Communion - Ashwater Church

Good Friday — 29th March

11.00 am Walk of Witness Halwill Churches Together - Halwill Junction

2.30 pm Good Friday Reflection Taize Service - Beaworthy Church

Easter Eve—30th March

10.00 am Easter Egg Hunt—Tetcott Church

6.00 pm Service of Light with Holy Communion - Black Torrington Church

Easter Day—Sunday 31st March

8.00 am Sunrise Service, Halwill Churches Together— Halwill School

10.00 am Benefice Easter Day Holy Communion— Beaworthy Church

Outside of Easter week

Ashwater services routinely take place on the 1st and 3rd Sundays each month at 09.30 a.m.

O

Ashwater church is open for private prayer.

Please see below.

Some simple Acts of Worship that people can use at any time
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION Service Prayers dur[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [235.0 KB]

Services you may wish to attend, watch or listen to, or join in with via Zoom

Daily Service BBC Radio 4 9.45 a.m. week days

Sunday Worship BBC Radio 4 8.10 a.m.

Choral Evensong BBC Radio 3 Wednesday at 3.30 p.m. repeated Sunday at 3.00 p.m.

CAN YOU HELP US?

Ashwater Church still urgently needs some additional help for the future efficient running of the Church. The areas where help is needed are:

~ Volunteers to assist with various support roles to help keep the Church running, and support the work done by our temporary vicar Stephen whose duties cover multiple local Parishes as well as Ashwater

~ support, grant and income generation

~ Administrative support, including with the Diocese

~ Publicity and Communication to the wider community

~ Church building care, maintenance and development.

St Peter’s does not have any churchwardens, and too much responsibility falls on just a few shoulders.

We need more people to get involved from both within the regular church congregation and parishioners who might attend less frequently.

We are seeking for volunteers who have the energy and drive to help move our church here forward. So, if you think you might be able to help in any of the above ways (or any other positive ways) then please contact Revd Dr Paul Fitzpatrick on 01409 254667, or at vicar-rubycountry@outlook.com

Ashwater bellringers - the tradition continues

Part of village life for centuries

The bells at Ashwater have sounded out across the village for centuries. The recent interruption due to the Covid lockdown represents a mere hiccup in that history and a dedicated team continue the tradition.

Celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Ashwater bellringers played their part in the Jubilee celebrations ringing the bells.

Ringing at Halwill Church on 3 June 2022 were Ashwater benefice bell ringers Eric Moon, Harold Jones, Liz Martin, Andrew Richards, Harvey Moon-Dix and Peter Potten.

New bellringers welcome - hands on experience guaranteed

The bellringers at St Peter's are seeking eager volunteers to join them in continuing the proud tradition of bellringing at Ashwater.

If you are interested in joining the team or simply curious and want to find out more please contact Tower Captain, Liz Martin

fizzandliz@yahoo.co.uk

Young ringer keeps it in the family

For generations the Moon family have been associated with Ashwater village and bell ringing. Eric Moon, who lives next to the church, has been ringing for over 70 years and is still going strong. His grandfather was instrumental in augmenting the original ring of five bells to six and having the bells rehung in 1929.

Four years ago, Eric’s grandson Harvey, then aged 12, started learning to ring about Easter time with the view to ringing on Remembrance Day that year, 100 years after WW1 ended. Harvey achieved that aim and has continued ringing. Unfortunately, covid stopped any ringing for quite a while but Harvey has stuck with it and is now a very proficient ringer. He is a member of the Ashwater benefice team and also practises with the Clawton team.

It was fitting that Eric should receive a 70-year award and Harvey a novice ringer award in May 2022 at theTamar Valley Guild of Ringers guild day, held at Ashwater. Only in recent years has Eric relinquished the role of tower captain. He no longer climbs the tower to maintain the bells or wind the clock. He freely offers advice to those carrying on with the work and the clock now has an electric winding mechanism. Whether it keeps such good time is debatable! Harvey maintains the tradition as he is always keen to assist with any maintenance work.

Enter a title

Here you can add a short description.

Services

Services at Ashwater are usually held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays each month at 9.30 am. See our home page for the next services.

All are welcome.

- whether you are new to the area or just visiting

- whether you have lived in the area for some time but not been to Church before

- whether you have been a regular church-goer before and have not attended for some time.

Need to talk?

It doesn't matter if you normally attend church or not, we are here for you. If you would like to speak to someone about how you are feeling, or if you need help please call:

Rev Dr Paul Fitzpatrick

Tel: 01409 254667

email: vicar-rubycountry@outlook.com

Keep connected - building a community for all

Please keep in touch even if you cannot attend Church services - phone or email Paul.

NEW TO ASHWATER

Welcome!

If you are new to Ashwater and want to find out more about the life of the Church in Ashwater and across the Ruby Country Diocese generally or if you think you would like to become more involved in supporting the activities of the Church please get in touch or simply join us at our next service.

Private Prayer

Please contact Rev Dr Paul Fitzpatrick

Tel 01409 254667

email vicar-rubycountry@outlook.com

To get in touch please email: administrator@ashwaterparishchurch.com