The Glebe

The Glebe is a patch of land on the hillside next to St Andrew’s Church. It is about 1.4 acres in size, and belongs to the Church of England. Its purpose in past centuries was to provide land for the vicar to grow food for his household, but it had not been used for a long time until in recent years it was rented out as a paddock for donkeys. When they departed, the donkeys left behind a large amount of excellent top dressing for all the new saplings that have been planted in The Glebe since the spring of 2012!

The Glebe has beeng turned by volunteers into a nature trail and park, open to all, not just the St Andrew's congregation. A pedestrian access gate has been installed, and all are welcome to walk the paths any time and see what is happening there now - things are progressing all the time. Fourteen wooden picnic tables and other seating have been put up for anyone to come and enjoy the tranquillity and peace of this beautiful place close to "The Old Church". Since February 2013 there has been a flock of hens to amuse visitors and to provide eggs for the congregation.

This new life for the Glebe began to take shape in 2011 when Eric Holdsworth, a member of the congregation at St Andrew's, inspired many others to help him with a major clearing and replanting project, with a view to creating something special to share with all the people of Clevedon. This project continues to go from strength to strength with lots of volunteer effort over the years from both St. Andrew’s church members and the local community. The thickets and dead and over-grown trees have been replaced with well-planned planting of trees, including cob, hazel and walnut to establish a “nuttery.” Saplings of oak, rowan, silver birch, hawthorn, hazel and blackthorn have been planted as a wildlife hedge, after 420 saplings - complete with supports and protectors against rabbits and deer - were donated by The Woodland Trust to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Also a tiny Royal Oak sapling, especially sent over from one of the Queen’s estates in her jubilee year, was planted by Terry Baillie (who retired as our vicar in May 2012) and his wife Margaret. It is now over twelve feet tall.

Money for the project has been raised in various ways, such as sale of logs, grants and the sale of eggs.

There is a shed for use by volunteers to shelter from rain, to have a hot drink and to store non-valuable tools. More volunteers are welcome to come and see how they might be able to help - simply turn up there on a Monday or Wednesday morning to find out!

In addition to the community, social and environmental benefits of the Glebe, it also contributes to the spiritual life of the church. Each Good Friday we hold a service in the church, during we process from the church behind three crosses, and complete the service in the open air on the Glebe, where the crosses are erected. The crosses remain until Pentecost as a reminder to all of the sacrifice Christ made on the cross for us.

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Crosses placed in the Glebe as a reminder of Christ's death on the cross for us

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Welcome

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know beforehand what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet in St Andrew's Church (details here) for our Sunday services starting at 10:00 am. For more details on our schedule of services, check here.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access to both the Church and the Church Centre. We have two designated accessible parking spaces on our private access road close to the church building, and one in the car park by the Church Centre. We have a sound loop in the church. Please sit in a pew in the main body of the church (not in the South Aisle by the entrance), behind the entrance gangway, where there are signs in front of the pews with the loop system logo, in order to take advantage of this facility. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will guide you. There are no toilets in the church building. The nearest toilets are available in the Church Centre, including an accessible toilet.

Modern layout of church - hear

Our Sunday Service

The service begins at 10am with a warm welcome from one of our team, and usually with notices if applicable. We use a variety of modern liturgy and sung worship which ranges from traditional hymns to modern worship songs. We include readings from the Bible and a sermon which aims to explain the scriptures and to apply them to our lives. Some of our readings and sermons follow the Church of England lexionary, and some form part of themed sermon series. The length of the service is usually about one hour.

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After the service, we serve refreshments in the St Andrew's Church Centre. It is a great way to get to know one another. All refreshments are free.

What about children?

Our children's activities take place at other times than the main church service (see here). However, we love children coming to our church services with their parents, and throughout the service we have a range of children's activities available in the St Thomas Chapel, for use under parental supervision. You can still hear what's going on in the main service from there, and be assured - we really don't mind the sound of children enjoying themselves!

Children

Getting Connected

Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our home groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Home Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! The church building is open for visitors most days from approximately 10 am to 4 pm. If you have questions beforehand, please let us know below.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel truly at home at our church.