Stoke St. Gregory Baptist Church is hosting an outdoor Messy Church event on Saturday 23 July in the grounds of the Baptist chapel. We will start at 4pm with various outdoor crafts and activities for the families to do together. We will then have a short interactive Bible story and finish by sharing food together about 5pm. We look forward to welcoming families and to enjoying the time together.
Stoke St Gregory Baptist Church has chosen to support Arc (Taunton Association for the Homeless) for 2022.
A small group of us are fundraising for Arc by joining in with their Big Sleep Out on Friday 10th June. We will be sleeping out in the Baptist church grounds between 6.30pm on the Friday night, through to the Saturday morning. We are raising money through sponsorship and would be incredibly grateful for anyone who wanted to donate using the paper sponsorship form provided. We also have a team “Just Giving” page that can be used for online donations.
We would really love for others from the village to join us and get sponsored to spend one night at the Baptist Church. The Big Sleep Out is open to all ages (Please note that all minors must be accompanied by a parent/carer who would be responsible for them for the duration of the Sleep Out).
Please contact Amanda Saunders (07767 324915 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) if you’d like to join in, or support us via our “Just Giving” page (see below).
We are not looking to replicate what it’s really like for those who have no choice other than to sleep out, but it’s an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of how Arc empowers and inspires those experiencing homelessness locally, and to raise much needed funds for them.
Thank you so much for any support you can give 😊
Please support SSG Baptists and Friends who are fundraising for Taunton Association for the Homeless on JustGiving.
JustGiving sends your donation straight to Taunton Association for the Homeless and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more.
We wanted to connect with the community again after such a long time in lockdown, aware that there are many in the community who feel isolated and alone. We enjoy providing hospitality, so on a sunny evening in August we hosted a church BBQ. It was lovely to see so many people eating good food and enjoying each other’s company. Thanks to Tony for providing the beef brisket (historic as always), Ian who BBQ’d the chicken and sausages, and everyone else who provided salads, dips, and desserts. It was a lovely evening.
The Cross and garden on Easter morning. The Cross was set-up outside the front of the chapel. It gave all who visited an opportunity to write a word or phrase that represented their fears or griefs at this time and another label for their hopes and joys and attach them to the cross. The flowers represent the new life that Jesus brings to all who believe.
The Sunrise Service held at Stoke St Gregory Baptist Church in 2021. The sunrise was beautiful and it was a lovely time to share together Easter morning.
A letter from Sonya about the way forward as lockdown restrictions begin to ease:
Hi Everyone,
We have all been through a difficult time over the last year which has affected us all in many different ways. In the face of these hard times, we have found new ways to be church. We have made use of Zoom for services, meetings, homegroups and prayer groups. We have found new ways of practicing our faith and sharing with one another. We have also found new ways of caring for those around us.
As we emerge from lockdown, we will start by having some services in the church building or outside it, and some services on Zoom. Over the next few months, we will focus on providing opportunities to rebuild community as we have had to be apart for so long. We are aware that all of us need time to recover, to process what we have been through, to reflect on what we have learnt and to recover from all the stresses of the last year or so. We will be exploring ways that we can help everyone in the community to do this.
This will be followed by a gradual process of reviewing ministries and reopening them when the time is right and in ways that are safe for everyone. We will keep you up to date with what is happening in the church Newsletter, the website, emails, and personal contact. Please look to the calendar here and in the Newsletter to receive updates on how things are progressing.
We thank God for His faithfulness, love and grace to us, and all of you for your support, love, prayers, and patience during the past year and look forward to continued blessings from God for the coming year.
Blessings to you all,
Sonya
STOKE ST. GREGORY BAPTIST
CHURCH OPENS FOR PRIVATE PRAYER
With the lifting of some restrictions on churches, we are opening the Stoke St. Gregory Baptist Church for private prayer. The church will be open for private prayer once or twice a week for the time being. Starting with 8-10am on Sunday 5th July, and 10am till 1pm on Monday 6th July. It will be open every Monday from 10am-1pm. We will let you know about any further Sunday openings.
This creative activity was hosted at the Church.
Since March 2019 we have been joined by Sonya Setchell who has taken up the role of Minister at Stoke St. Gregory Baptist Church.
After a series of meetings and discussions, backed by considerable prayer, we have put together our church profile. The full text can be found here. The summary is as follows.
Jeremiah 17:7-7 'blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.'
