ST TUDY with MICHAELSTOW PARISH

Welcome to the Parish of St Tudy with Michaelstow

We hope you find our website interesting and enjoy discovering more about our ancient parish and its two wonderful Churches of St Tudy and St Michael with All Angels. Both our Grade 1 listed Churches have a long history going back to Celtic traditions and perhaps beyond. Combined as a single parish in 2013, we are within the Benefice of St Mabyn and St Tudy with Michaelstow, together offering a breadth of worship styles and tradition from traditional Prayer Book to the more modern. In July 2016 we embraced a wider cluster of five parishes and seven churches now known as the Camel Side Cluster. Together we are in transition as we wish our Priest in Charge, Rev Canon Sherry Bryan, a long and happy retirement and we look forward to welcoming a new Rector in coming months.

Our Parish

St Tudy is an ancient village of 604 souls tucked away between the Rivers Camel and Allen. Off the main roads, it is a place to be sought out as a destination (and often is by visitors from all over the world) rather than a passing place. It is reputedly one of the most picturesque villages in Cornwall. You should come and see us.

The location of Michaelstow is even more discrete, a real farming community of five hamlets with a combined population of 233. Helsbury Castle is an Iron Age hill fort standing on Michaelstow Beacon half-a-mile north of the village. This is where the parish bonfire is held to mark royal or national events with the next one planned to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War in 2018.

The Parish is served by the award-winning St Tudy Community Shop and Post Office run by more than 40 volunteers. Recently declaredthe Best Community Business in the South West, it has also won a significant grant for an extension to the shop with construction expected to start soon. The shop is not the only award winner with the parish pub, St Tudy Inn, acclaimed by industry leaders as one of the UK’s top 50 Gastro-Pubs. We are also well served by a popular café in the thriving plant nursery at Cedarcroftand an excellent farm butcher’s shop, Button Meats in Michaelstow. Hengar Manor offers villagers the use of its swimming pool, pizzeria and restaurant within easy walking distance. We get first pick of the early flowers grown for the UK flower market by Michaelstow Nursery. The Harvest Auction of Produce is always a popular event with high prices being reached for the freshest vegetables and soft fruit grown for UK supermarkets. If it’s local produce you want then this is the place to be.

Neither Church has its own Hall although the Clink, the old Church house and once the village lock-up, is used for small gatherings and coffee mornings in St Tudy. Consequently we use the facilities of the Methodist rooms and village hall for larger events. The Youth Club meets in St Tudy Methodist Church while Treveighan Chapel is the venue for table tennis and coffee mornings. St Tudy Village Hall hosts many flourishing community groups, eg Garden Produce Association, Country Dancing, Short Mat Bowls, Over 60s, Yoga, WI etc while the local History Group meets in the Clink. Produced monthly by volunteers, the Magazine is essential reading keeping everyone up to date with what is going on in St Tudy, Michaelstow and St Mabyn. It is supported by advertising from local businesses and readers’ subscription.

There are only a handful of holiday homes in the Parish and many of these second-home owners take an active part in Church life whenever they are down.

Schooling

The Village Hall hostsSt Tudy Pre-School with many of the children progressing to St Tudy Church of England School, adjacent to the Church. The primary is part of The Saints Way Church of England Multi-Academy Trust which also includes St Mabyn, St Petroc’s in Bodmin, Lerryn and St Winnow primary schools. The school has a weekly service, usually conducted by the priest in charge, and regular presentations from ‘Open the Book’. Children progress to schools in Bodmin, Camelford or Wadebridge for their secondary education.

The Parochial Church Council

The PCC represents the congregations of both churches within the parish and meets at least four times each year. It has the usual officers and six elected lay members, with a number of new members including the Secretary elected at this year’s APCM. This brings an exciting new vibrancy and impetus to our plans for future development. We enjoy a solid working relationship with both St Tudy and Michaelstow Parish Councils receiving an annual grant towards the cost of maintaining the cemeteries. St Tudy Parish Council is in the process of buying land for a new extension to the cemetery. We also work closely together on the maintenance of the War Memorials. Michaelstow Parish Council has been instrumental in establishing a Friends of St Michael’s Group which is attracting considerable attention from non-churchgoers.

Our churches are fortunate to have a talented group of volunteers who manage the floral decoration, cleaning and grounds maintenance of the churchyard and adjacent cemetery. Whether church-goers or not, they are happy to undertake most work which does not call for the services of specialist tradesmen. We are very grateful to them all for everything they do to care for and preserve our beautiful buildings.

Our Churches

St Tudy Church is the Parish Church and St Michael and All Angels (usually known as Michaelstow) has been a Chapel of Ease since 2013. Both Churches trace their origins back to the earliest days of Christianity in Cornwall. St Tudy Church’s God’s Acre is sited on an Iron Age Round. Dedicated to the beatified 5th century Breton abbot Tudy or Tudic, the present Church was enlarged in the 15th-early 16th century. It has a 6th century gargoyle, a rare 10th century Scandinavian-design copestone and Norman work including the font. Michaelstow is named after St Michael’s holy place where there is an ancient holy well in the graveyard, pointing to even earlier pre-Christian origins as a site of worship.

St Tudy Church is open all day every day and we are seeking to increase the opening hours of St Michael’s. There are very good working relationships with the Methodist Churches in St Tudy and Treveighan. St Tudy has shared services with the Methodists six times each year. In consultation, Treveighan Methodist Chapel expressed a wish that their joint services should continue, developing a deeper sense of unity through sympathetic leadership.

St Tudy Church follows a monthly pattern of Holy Communion (sung) on the first and third Sundays (Common Worship) with Matins (Prayer Book) on the Second Sunday and a simple form of Family Service on the Fourth. Churchmanship at St Tudy Church could be described as traditional. Services commence at 11.05am in accord with Christ Church, Oxford, the Church’s Patron. With the exception of the Family Service, worship is currently conducted by a retired priest with the assistance at Matins of a Lay Reader who also conducts the Family Service. A cleverly concealed kitchen at the back of the church provides refreshments for everyone at the end of each Family Service.There is also a short Evening Service on Tuesday evenings at St Tudy at 5-30pm, conducted by a member of the staff of St Endellion Church.

St Michael’s and All Angels Churchcelebrates Holy Communion twice each month starting at 9-30am. The Book of Common Prayer is used for all services which are conducted by a retired priest.

Music

There is no resident choir although we are hoping to form a choir in the near future. Meanwhile for special services and principal festivals an excellent choir is gathered from enthusiastic villagers who are members of Wadebridge Choral Society. They lead a very moving Meditation of readings, hymns and choral anthems on Good Friday, the Nine Lessons and Carols at Christmas, Harvest Festival and St Tudy’s Patronal Festival on the second Sunday of May.

A fine two manual pipe organ played at services in St Tudy is often used for organ recitals. The standard of musical performance is high. Michaelstow Churchhas a small two rank short compass organ and aspires to hold musical and other events in future.

A peal of six bells summonsworshippers to Sunday services and festivals in St Tudy where villagers look forward to the weekly bell practices. Several families who have just moved to the area have joined the Bellringers, learning from scratch and then joining other Church groups. The rediscovery of a set of hand bells is stimulating interest among a number of people who do not attend Church. A bell ringing game was introduced at this year’s Church Open Day attracting even more interest.

Events

A new Events Group has been formed to look at ways to enhance the social as well as the spiritual and pastoral offering of our Churches.

Pews at the rear of the Church were removed a few years ago to create space for social events. Extra seating is brought in for festivals and special services, such as Christingle, as well aschoral and instrumental recitals including pop and brass band concerts.

St Tudy History Group organises a special service to mark the centenary of the death of each man named on the War Memorial. It mounts a display of his life in Church and welcoming descendants who travel from all over the country to attend the ceremony at the Memorial. The school is also involved in some of these occasions. The group, which meets in the Clink, is mapping the graves in the Churchyard as well as updating the Church guidebook.

The garden of the modern, purpose-built Vicarage near the school is occasionally used to host the annual Fete or Garden Party but in other years the venue may be gardens and paddocks of parishioners. A highlight of the Fete is the crowning of the King and Queen for the Carnival held a few weeks later. Every year the local blueberry farm holds a farm ride and tea for St Michael’s Church.

Our Hopes

We are concerned by the lack of young people and families in our congregations and must strive for congregational growth among younger age groups and families. Consequently a small working group is considering activities including Messy Church to encourage more younger people to connect with our Church community. We seek greater engagement between our Churches in their corporate and social activities and in Church attendance.

To do this we think we need a priest who

  • has a dynamic approach to the Christian faith and an ecumenical commitment
  • is committed to leading the pastoral care of the parish community
  • will work closely with our Primary School in its relations with the Parish Church
  • is adaptable, innovative, imaginative and a good mixer. Ecumenical in outlook, open-minded and willing to seek opportunities and fresh challenges to advance the Church
  • will provide sympathetic leadership and encourage appropriate delegation in every aspect of his/her post as priest

The PCC recently reviewed its policies and confirmed its wish that remarriage of divorced persons in Church and the Admission of Children to Holy Communion after baptism will remain at the discretion of the priest.

Combining old ways of calling to worship with the new is our hope for the future.