St Andrew’s Church

- Caren Martin

St Andrew’s Church

St Andrew’s Church is highly visible at the centre of the village and for many miles around, especially at night when the tower is floodlit (by voluntary donations). It is a large building mostly dating from about 1450, and the large number of clear glass windows give it a “light and airy” feeling during the day. It holds up to 240 people. The building is in good condition for its age and there are no outstanding works of repair other than day to day maintenance.

There is a modernised Church Hall adjacent to St Andrew’s, regularly hired by village organisations and used by the church for social and fundraising activities. The kitchen was recently refurbished to a high standard. The parish office is also based in the church hall. Solar panels were installed in 2011 to take benefit of “feed in tariff” income.

Other Churches in Ipplepen
Ipplepen also has a Methodist church, and St Andrew’s has close links with their members, and with Roman Catholic residents in the village.

The People
The Church is also fortunate in having generous support from many volunteers over a wide range of activities including: a strong hospitality group catering for lunches and coffee mornings; help at Messy Church; cleaners; flower arrangers; choir; bell ringers; drivers to church; vestry carers; servers; chalice administrators; fabric working party; a small team involved in working tapestry for the church; and many others.

There is an active PCC plus a number of sub-committees for various topics. Membership of these sub-committees is not restricted to PCC members. There are 2 churchwardens supported by an experienced deputy churchwarden. The Churches in Ipplepen organise a monthly Lunch Club in the Church Hall, mainly for “those who dine alone”, but including some couples who are lonely or who need extra support. It is financially self-supporting.

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Wednesday
Bell Ringing – 7.30pm

Thursday
Choir Practice – 4pm

Regular Mid-Week (CW) Service
12 Noon

Sunday Service
11am

Facilities