Our Churches
Ashburton Methodists 'Church in Community'
Ashburton Methodists 'Church in Community'
Ashburton Methodists 'Church in Community'
WEST STREET, ASHBURTON, TQ13 7DT
We sold our Church building a few years ago to a community group who have developed a thriving Arts Centre.
We have become a “church in Community”.
We have an informal and flexible worshipping style, which includes our contributions to the ecumenical All Age Church - our monthly Breakfast@9, and Moor Church every other month. We also have a monthly outdoor communion service (weather permitting - and it usually does!) and weekly times of both prayer and bible reflections.
We seek ways to work with and in our community, and so, for example, have run a twice-monthly knit and natter group "KnitKnuts”: our current project is to take the lead in a community 'Ashburton Growing Space' project in partnership with the Royal British Legion and others.
We are also increasingly working in partnership with St Andrew's Parish Church and the wider benefice, pooling resources to support Messy Church, the summer Holiday Club, the online services, and the employment both of a Family Development Worker and of a Digital Missioner.
As our Church life is flexible and evolving, please contact us to find out more or to join our mailing list.
Poundsgate Methodist Chapel
Ashburton Methodists 'Church in Community'
Ashburton Methodists 'Church in Community'
POUNDSGATE, NEWTON ABBOT, TQ13 7PD
Poundsgate Chapel is a well-known landmark for those crossing Dartmoor from Ashburton to Princetown or Tavistock.
It was built as a place of worship in 1833 and has been in regular use ever since. As well as serving the local moorland community, it attracts visitors from across southeast Devon, as well as many other parts of the British Isles and occasionally from overseas. We are conscious that the chapel is the one place of Christian worship along the Ashburton to Princetown road – one of the main arteries across Dartmoor. We feel it is important therefore, to maintain the chapel as a place of worship, and as a visible reminder of the presence of God on the Moor.
Because of our isolated setting, our regular congregation come from a wide geographical area, and many of them will have already have attended services elsewhere in the morning.
We focus our worship, then, around interviews, talks and conversation – usually on a theme related to the season of the year, our particular moorland setting or people working around the Teignbridge area. In recent times, for example, we have heard from a local Dartmoor Ranger, the founder of the Dartmoor Community Kitchen Hub, and members of the farming community.
There is always then the opportunity to engage further in conversation on the topic, or just to catch up over coffee and cake afterwards.
Dunstone Methodist Church
Ashburton Methodists 'Church in Community'
Dunstone Methodist Church
LADY MEADOW, DUNSTONE,
WIDECOMBE-IN-THE-MOOR, TQ13 7JT
Dunstone chapel outside the village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor on the road towards Ponsworthy.
In the past few years we have adapted the chapel to become a multipurpose room by taking out the pews, laying a new floor, insulating and decorating the walls, and bringing in tables and chairs.
Until the outbreak of Covid-19, we met weekly at 9am for an informal time of worship over breakfast, and we look forward to restarting this as soon as we restrictions permit. We also have other occasional and seasonal acts of worship, such as our annual carol service, which includes hymns from the Widecombe singers and warming food – a truly uplifting community event. Another great success has been the Charity Lunch which, again until the various lockdowns, ran once a month on a Wednesday, with soups, bread, sushi, cheese scones and various savoury things as well as cakes. Everything is home-made and donated so that all money donated goes to charity.
Over the years, the chapel has had a strong connection with the Christian charity based at East Shallowford Farm, which particularly offers an experience of country life to young people and families from one of the neediest parts of London, and we are always delighted when those staying at the farm are able to join us for our Sunday breakfast and worship.