Learning Journal 11 - Placement Church

This summer I will be doing my Block Placement at Christchurch in Clevedon. This is a Local Ecumenical Partnership which represents the coming together of a Methodist church and an Anglican church. Students from Trinity have done placements there in the past, and a mission was held there over Easter. By all accounts it is an interesting church with lots going on and it should prove to be a great place to do a placement.

On Pentecost Sunday we visited the church, and it just so happened that there were some Trinity students being confirmed there by Bishop Roger Sainsbury. The church seems reasonably lively with a mixture of contemporary and more traditional worship. The church seemed to be absolutely full and there was a good age range represented. The vicar, Clive Jennings seems to have a relaxed and friendly style which contributes to an informal and unpretentious atmosphere.

The combination of the churches seems to have been successful, something which I’m sure they have had to work hard at. One thing that was fascinating was to see the way they did communion. They offered the wine both in the large single chalice’s and in the small individual glasses. Communion could be received at the rail, or in the body of the church. This presumably represents a coming together of both church’s communion traditions.

We were made to feel very welcome and I look forward to joining them for a few weeks in the summer.