Minster News

Wells Cathedral announces changes to its admission guidelines

If you enjoy visiting our Cathedral in Wells, then from 22 April you’ll find a change in the admission arrangements. At the moment it is by donation, but from 22 April adult tourism visitors will be asked to contribute to the upkeep with a set admission charge. There will be no charge for people who wish to come into the Cathedral to pray, attend a service or light a candle.

However! If you are on the Electoral Roll of Taunton Minster and live within the Diocese of Bath and Wells, you can apply for a free Wells Cathedral Parish Pass.

You can get the Wells Cathedral Parish Pass application form by clicking here. When you have completed your form, it will need to be signed by one of the churchwardens or the Vicar. You can then take your fully completed form to the Welcome Desk in Wells Cathedral between 9.00am and 4.30pm (11.00am to 3.00pm Sundays) in order to collect your pass.

More on Cathedral admission charges and arrangements by clicking here.

Talking Cafes provide a local place you can pop into, for advice and support from your local Village Agent on anything that is worrying you, or if you just want a friendly chat.

Here at the Minster, the Cafe happens in the friendly atmosphere of the coffee shop. The Cafe is in a dedicated area where you can talk quietly and confidentially.

The eagle-eyed among you – or maybe the peregrine-eyed? – may have noticed that since November 2021 our iconic 50 metre tower has been missing one of its four weathervanes. If you hadn’t noticed, then take a look – the one pinnacle standing empty can be seen not just when standing in the churchyard looking up, but also from far away.

Why have been weathervane-less? Simply because the iron work of the original had failed and was in danger of falling, so it was intentionally removed. There have been lots of unavoidable delays in getting the weathervane refurbished, but the gilding work is now complete, and a new replica mast has been fabricated. Today, conservation specialists were on site to reinstate the weathervane. Alas, further unforseen problems were encountered—some of the original ironwork embedded in the pinnacle has corroded and failed and some specialist engineering work will be required to renew this. Doing this work at 50 metres up is quite an undertaking.

So, with the Peregrine season fast approaching (when we are required to avoid any disturbance tower-top) it means a further delay to the weathervane’s return, both until later in the year and also for when an engineering solution can been found. Then there’s the challenge of funding this new, unexpected and costly phase of work too……..

However, you can see in the photo here the newly gilded weathervane looking stunning….albeit at ground level.

Following formal recognition by the Charity Commission of TAUNTON MINSTER as the new working name for ‘PCC St Mary Magdalene Taunton’, the name of the church bank account has been changed to TAUNTON MINSTER.

This means from now on, all cheques in favour of the church should be made out to TAUNTON MINSTER. A cheque written with the old name will have to be returned and a replacement requested in the name of TAUNTON MINSTER.

The bank account number is not being changed and, therefore, no action is necessary in respect of Standing Orders and Direct Debits.

New ‘paying-in’ books for cash deposits will be brought into use as soon as they are

received from the bank. In the meantime, we shall continue to use the current books, amending the account name by hand to TAUNTON MINSTER.

Any queries please to Nigel Birkett, Acting Treasurer.

St Mary Magdalene church becoming a MINSTER church

At a special service on Sunday 13 March 22 our church will be designated TAUNTON MINSTER. What will this mean for us?

The Background

It’s now 6 years since we received a letter from Taunton Deane Borough Council asking us to consider the church being “reclassified as a MINSTER” believing it would be “of enormous value for the town”.  A sub committee of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) was formed and, with the guidance of our Diocesan Bishop on the path to follow, a lot of work was undertaken to identify the pros and cons and seek the views of other churches.

PCC members were particularly mindful of a deep reluctance on our church’s part to be any different from other C of E churches in the town. But our prayerful research and investigations led us to recognise how this might just be God’s call to us to become more involved in the life of the town community.

In 2017, after consideration by the PCC, the report of the sub committee led to wider consultation with the church family through both an open meeting and at the Annual Parish Church Meeting where a show-of-hands poll indicated heavily in favour of St Mary Magdalene’s becoming a MINSTER church. There then followed a meeting of the PCC which overwhelmingly voted in favour of formally approaching the Bishop for his approval.

We might ask why it has taken a further 4 years for this to come to fruition! There followed a period of consultation in the wider Diocese before the Bishop could approve the designation, but its implementation was thwarted when our Vicar moved to Great Malvern Priory in 2018. An 18-month vacancy followed before the arrival of our new Vicar, Tobie Osmond, in October 2019. Then Covid-19 arrived.

How will becoming a Minster change our church?

We shall still be known as St Mary Magdalene church but with the added shorter title of TAUNTON MINSTER used on our noticeboards in the churchyard and on signage for tourist visitors across the town centre. But becoming a MINSTER church in the 21^st century means so much more than a change of public perception. Michael Sadgrove, Dean Emeritus of Durham cathedral, wrote: “To become an urban Minster today is to accept a wider, if not new, vocation”.

As part of that wider vocation, we shall develop a partner relationship with our District Council and the Taunton Chamber of Commerce through the establishment of a Minster Council to help address key issues in society with the aim of improving people’s lives. Other vocational opportunities might well include:

1. a)Engaging culture and the arts: opportunity to increase profile through Arts Taunton
2. b)Developing educational programmes: opportunity to grow links with (e.g.) Bridgwater & Taunton College
3. c) Development of our relationship with Wells Cathedral and Bath Abbey to open up and explore new possibilities for mission in the south-west of the Diocese

Within the church building itself we may expect to see an increase in the number of visitors and enlarging the Coffee Shop area gives us the opportunity to grow our hospitable welcome.

How will this impact our relationship with Taunton Deanery and our Diocese?

 Over time, we shall …

1. Become a focal point for the deanery, providing resources for training and events
2. Aim to become a centre of excellence providing theological education
3. Serve the diocese as a hub at the western end of the Bath and Wells diocese, including the hosting of diocesan-led events

What is the vision of how we shall meet these challenges?

We are excited by opportunities we have identified which the Minster designation could open up for mission and ministry in our Town community. The challenge will be to ensure our resources are aligned to enable those new opportunities for mission, service and evangelism to be prayerfully prioritised and grasped. We shall be challenged but, with God’s help, we shall own those challenges. We shall own “a wider vocation”.

St Mary Magdalene Taunton Parochial Church Council
January 2022

Dennis Cavaghan’s book “Through the Eyes of St Mary’s” covers 13 centuries (AD708-2008) of Christian history in Taunton. This beautifully produced hardback book is now available in our Bookshop; it is a fascinating, illustrated history, perfect for reading and for reference. Also available at Brendan Books.

On Sunday Preb Stephen Lynas dedicated the modern cross that hangs above the pulpit. He explained that it is made of steel representing the harshness of the nails, pain, and death, also the softer copper representing hope, resurrection and the defeat of death. This cross brings together, the hope of Resurrection and the defeat of Death.