Welcome
The Shirwell Mission Community comprises eight Churches in seven rural parishes in North Devon:
Bratton Fleming; Challacombe; East Down & Arlington; Kentisbury; Loxhore; Shirwell and Stoke Rivers.
The Mission Community
The Mission Community lies within the Shirwell Deanery and covers an area of just under 50 square miles with a population of approximately 2600.
The parishes extend north east of Barnstaple to the Exmoor National Park and the Somerset border.
The Rector is Revd Rosie Austin, who lookes after the six parishes. She is assisted by a curate Revd Martyn Tyrrell, two retired clergymen, Rev Chris Tull from Challacombe and Rev Mike Miller from South Molton.
Rosie lives in Bratton Fleming, the largest of the parishes and placed centrally within the Mission Community.
Martyn lives in Shirwell, the second largest parish.
All enquiries for weddings, funerals and baptisms should be made to Rev Rosie Austin:
Telephone 01598 711962
Email: rosieaustin@live.co.uk
Rev Martin Tyrrell writes . . .
It has been lovely to return to work amongst you in the month of May. I wish to thank you for your prayers, kind words and generosity during this past eight months. Although it was nice to meet many of you during my limited return in December and January, there are also many of you that I have not seen since last summer and in this unprecedented time of necessary restrictions, it will sadly be some time before we meet again in person. However, it has been nice to see some on Zoom and hear one another’s voices again on telephone calls and conference calls!
Exactly a year ago I wrote this “As a Christian I am learning that the only hope that can carry me on, is setting hope on something beyond what we have and see.” In this past year, like never before, I have discovered deeper meaning of the words in Romans 8 “We hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently”…” we wait eagerly for our adoption as children of God, the redemption of our bodies”. I realise that this lifetime is a time of preparing for the eternity that is promised in Jesus.
But in this lifetime, we also have that promise of true life that begins now in Jesus. And so I would encourage you to look for answers to prayers now, new beginnings of hope and the peace of the Holy Spirit, because I have found that included in the promise that we have been given. I have been given more time, and that is precious. I have also gained more assurance of what we are waiting for and that is priceless. The assurance that I have now, is the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And that assurance changes everything, beginning now, and completing in eternity.
Martyn
Safeguarding
If you have a concern about the safety of someone or the actions of someone working with children or vulnerable adults, please speak to someone:
The link to the Diocesan Safeguarding Team’s contact details - https://exeter.anglican.org/resources/safeguarding/safeguarding-team/