St John Bodinnick

In the village of Bodinnick, the tiny church of St John’s holds approximately 30 people and lies at the very heart of the village a little way upriver from Polruan. Services are held here to celebrate the major festivals including Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas, Easter, and Harvest of the Sea in the summer period. Services are normally held in the evening at 6.30pm and are followed by drinks and nibbles and a good old village catch up. The church has a special little garden which is lovingly looked after by a great band of local volunteers. It is also a favourite for walkers of the Hall Walk where they can stop and picnic and enjoy some estuary views. Interestingly the church was first used as a stable block for those using the Ferry Inn and it was given to the local community by the owner of the inn to use as a church.

St John`s is one of the more unusual churches in the Diocese of Truro being a chapel of ease in the Parish of Lanteglos by Fowey in the Benefice of Trelawny. It is a converted stable block given to the village by the owner of the Ferry Inn in 1947. It has a lovely garden which is a favourite for walkers especially doing the Hall Walk and the circular walk between Fowey and Polruan using the passenger ferry at Polruan and the car ferry in Bodinnick. It’s just a welcome restbite for many on the steep hill half way up the high street in Bodinnick.

Faced with closure a year or so ago due to dwindling congregations, the poor state of the building and garden and the inevitable cuts that the On The Way process has brought to the Diocese to maintain future sustainability. A wonderful renascence has taken place. A Friends Group has been established. A regular group of Saturday gardeners gather to garden and share a yarn and a cup of coffee. The interior and exterior of the church has been repainted and an varied set of fund raising activities take place.

Interestingly the church is being used as a gallery to promote local artists. An exhibition took place last November and nearly £1,000 was raised for church funds. Another weeks exhibition is planned from Saturday 13^th May 2023 during the Fowey Literary Festival. The church will be open and maned daily from 10am. Other exhibitions are planned during the summer by specific artists. If you’d like to hire the church for this purpose please contact Trelawny Benefice Office maryesdaile@icloud.com Outside of exhibitions there is always a permanent display with pictures and other works of art to purchase.

The church looked beautiful for Easter Sunday when 15 of us gathered for Easter Praise. Our next service will be on Sunday 7^th May 2023 at 6.30pm when we will be sharing a Coronation Celebration Service followed by drinks and nibbles. Over the summer we will be hosting a Harvest of the Sea Service and Songs of Praise event and in September our traditional Harvest Festival. The church also holds an intriguing carol service when everyone climbs aboard the Bodinnick Car Ferry for a cruise along the Fowey with a local choir for accompaniment.

Trelawny Rector, Richard Allen comments. Its amazing what can happen when a group of local people come together to support their local church. There is real support here to have a local Christian witness. Its likely this group of people will raise £5,000 this year towards MMF which will go along way along with other parish iniatives in Trelawny Benefice to maintain a full time Rector. They have given their time and skills to look after the building and have had a fantastic vision to use the church as a Gallery to support local artists when not being used as a place of woship. I think they are a real lesson to many communities in Cornwall struggling to maintain Christian worship in their village. It can be done but coming together with enthusiasm and using everyone’s gifts and talents really works.

Richard Allen Rector of Trelawny

A BRIEF HISTORY OF St. JOHN THE BAPTIST, BODINNICK

BY-FOWEY In the Parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey

St.John’s Bodinnick must be one of Cornwall’s smallest and least pretentious places of worship and yet, over the years, its unique charm and friendly atmosphere have endeared it to regular worshippers and visitors alike.

The following is a brief history of the church, prepared by the late Canon May, the first vicar of St. John’s Bodinnick.

In 1948 the vicar of Lanteglos, who normally said the daily offices of Morning and Evening Prayer at St. Saviour’s, Polruan, found there were a few people who would be happy to join him if he said Evening Prayer on Fridays in Bodinnick. The proprietor of the Old Ferry Inn offered the use of a room in a house which belonged to the Inn and, for some weeks, half a dozen people gathered to say Evensong there.

From this beginning, the need for a proper church in Bodinnick began to be felt. There were elderly communicants in Bodinnick for whom the Parish Church of St. Wyllow, Lanteglos was too far to travel. In those days the ‘house church’ (celebrating the Eucharist with the dining room or kitchen table as alter) was unheard of. The Eucharist, it was felt, must always be celebrated at a properly consecrated altar, except in emergencies.

One day, while he was delivering the parish magazine to the Inn, the vicar asked the proprietor if he could give him a piece of land so that he could erect a prefabricated garage to use as a church. The proprietor replied that he could do better than that and offered to give the vicar his stable. The magnificent gift aroused much enthusiasm in the village. The stable was old but well built and in an ideal position, and what could be more suitable than an old stable ?

The church has continued to provide the village with somewhere where services could be held and continues do so to the present day.

Safeguarding

Our Parish Churches are bound to ensure that children and young people as well as adults are kept safe whilst in their care as an integral part of our church life. If you have any concerns about safeguarding please contact:

Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinators

Lanreath

Mrs Sandra Pipe – 01503 220860

Lansallos

Mrs Josie Slade – 01503 220513

Lanteglos by Fowey

Mr Norman & Mrs Angie Mallard – 01726 870747 or 07791 536609

Pelynt

Rev Richard Allen – 01503 220847 or 07383621292

Talland

Mr Paul Baker – 01503 265628

In the Diocese:

Sarah Acraman Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, 01872 274351 Out of Hours for after 5pm and weekends: 01208 251300

In emergency situation: Local Authority Children’s Social Care: 0300 123 1116 Local Authority Adult’s Social Care: 0300 1234131

News from St John’s, Bodinnick

Dear Friend

A quick catch-up since our last email in early March to bring you up to date.

Firstly we’d like to thank those who have donated to the Friends of St John’s; we’ve nearly reached the amount required by HMRC to authorise the Friends Charity Number (this will be emailed to you as soon as we have it). However if you’d like to help us ‘over the line’ we’d be most grateful – bank details at the end of this email ***

There is now broadband connection throughout the church, WebCam security and a Just Giving CollecTin where visitors can donate and pay for the merchandise on offer. The benefit of the CollecTin is that all money received through this device is Gift Aided through the GASDS (Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme).

Last but not least our thanks go to the volunteers who’ve helped with the church garden, and to those who distributed leaflets and posters far and wide to advertise the forthcoming Fowey Art Trail exhibition at St John’s from 13th to 20th May – details on the attached poster below. There will be artwork galore: paintings, ceramics, sculpture and wood turning, with paintings by Daphne du Maurier so far unseen by the public. Come and feast your eyes!

We’ll be in touch again soon, but meanwhile our thanks again to you all for helping to save St John’s – your support and enthusiasm is much appreciated.

All best wishes

Friends of St John’s Committee

***

Bank Details:

Account Name: Friends of St John

Account No: 30062960

Sort Code: 30-99-50

St John`s Bodinnick Art Exhibition

St John`s Bodinnick hosted a highly successful Art Exhibition over 5 days at the end of October. A number of local artists exhibited their work in a variety of mediums. Over 40 people gathered at the launch evening. The church was able to benefit from a percentage of each sale. There were lots of visitors over the half term period with the church looking resplendent. The church acts as a regular all year round gallery with a number of specific exhibitions throughout the year. The Parish of Lanteglos by Fowey is indebted to the Friends of St John`s Bodinnick who do an outstanding work in maintaining the church and contributing to the Diocesan MMF Fund.

Richard Allen rector

carols on the Bodinnick Car Ferry

Trelawny Benefice enjoyed a great evening Carol singing cruising the river Fowey on the Bodinnick car ferry! Around 100 of us gathered on Monday night along with friends from the Noteability choir

Bodinnick carol service

A packed St John’s Bodinnick enjoyed their annual Carol service last night. This is all the more encouraging as the church was under threat of closure a year or so ago. Now used as a community art gallery with a vibrant group of friends nearly £8,000 has been raised this year including a £3,000 MMF donation when previously a contribution had never directly been made. The church has been repainted and the garden manicured and a much needed new heating system will be installed for next winter. God has surprised us in the wonderful way he has worked in this tiny church.

Art at St John’s exhibition, 26 – 29 October

The Friends of St John’s have been busy again. Another successful Art Exhibition was held at the Bodinnick Church last week. A variety of different local artists exhibited using different modes. Lots of local people as well as visitors attended. It shows what can happen when a few local people come together with a vision. The church has had a new lease of life many more people attend creative services and around £8,000 has been raised in the last year when previously the church didn’t really have an income! St John’s Bodinnick is truly On The Way! .

SOLD! A red sticker fornSue Lord’s Waiting Boats, Polperro Harbour

Janet Downes jewellery

Visitors admiring wood turning and pottery

St John’s Bodinnick Art Exhibition

St John’s Bodinnick hosted a beautiful art exhibition and sale of local artists work. Pictured here is the launch. A number of pictures were sold which raised funds for the church. The church is proving to be a popular gallery. Many walkers drop by for a look and other hop on the Bodinnick Ferry to come across from Fowey.

Bodinnick Harvest of the Sea Sunday 25th June 2023

St John`s Bodinnick held their annual Harvest of the Sea Service on Sunday evening. The service was led by the Trelawny Rector, Richard Allen. Bodinnick has a wonderful sea faring tradition nestled on the banks of the Fowey estuary just across the water from Fowey. `The Rev` reminded everyone of the dangers of the sea and as part of the service read an adapted version of Psalm 23 entitled the Lord is my Pilot. He explained how Jesus can guide has through the storms of life. As usual the church looked lovely adorned by the work of local artists as it doubles up as a galley when services are not being held.

St John`s Bodinnick Art Festival

St Johns Bodinnick have just hosted a weeks art exhibition displaying the work of local artists as part of the Fowey literary week and Arts Trail. Its a wonderful space on the hill in Bodinnick on the well known Hall Walk. A number of other exhibitions are planned by the friends of St John`s over the summer.