The Baptist Church, Beckington
Services are held at 3.00 p.m. each Sunday, except that on the second Sunday of the month a united service is held with St George's – at 3 p.m. if at the Baptist Church or at 6.30 p.m. when at St George's, (see St. George's Services for details.
The Minister is the Revd. Michael I. White (e-mail) of Frome and the organist is Mrs Andrea Smart.
The Church holds fortnightly Bible Study Group meetings in the homes of church members and is associated with various village activities. The Church has invested a considerable amount of money in the refurbishing of its facilities. Together, with the support of SEA and the Beckington Pre-School Group, this investment has provided excellent modern facilities for the Pre-School Group, Parents & Toddlers and other community activities.
The Church belongs to the Baptist Union of Great Britain and is affiliated locally to the Wiltshire and East Somerset Baptist Association. Day to day control of the local church is in the hands of the Minister and Officers. The membership, along with the congregation, elects the Minister, Secretary, Treasurer and Deacons. The church has financial responsibility for all it undertakes.
Re-appointment of an accredited minister is decided after hearing that minister preach at least twice and then inviting that person to take oversight of the Church. Services at the church are taken by the resident minister, visiting ministers, and clergy and lay persons. The church holds an open communion policy, inviting all who normally take communion in their own church to do so.
The regular congregation help in the running of the church. In recent years the church has had even closer links with St George's Church and there is joint recognition of ministries. Use is made of the Baptist Church to provide an additional facility for Christian work in the community.
The Church is used by the Royal British Legion for part of its Remembrance services. The Revd. Michael I White is also the Legion Chaplain.
The late Philip Boyce, who for many years was Pastor of the Church, wrote a History of Beckington Baptist Church to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the church in 1986. It is hoped to revise and update this in the near future in tribute to his many years of service.
When numbers of babies increased in Beckington the Parents and Toddlers group was restarted, on 5th October 1993.
The aim of the group is for our Mums and Dads with young children to come and meet for a chat and a cup of tea and hopefully to share their joys and problems with one another.
The children are also catered for, learning to play together and enjoying themselves. Members of our Mothers Union have always supported us, helping at sessions with the cups of tea etc. Help is always welcome and our reward is seeing the babies grow up.
Since the Baptist Church Room was refurbished, we have very good facilities, which we share with the Playgroup. Many new parents move into the village and very often the Mothers and Toddlers group is the first place to meet lots of people and hear about all the facilities available in the village. We are a very informal group, enjoying our Tuesday afternoons and always pleased to welcome new families.
The Church has strong links with St. George’s Church.
If you would like to visit this Church, take a look at the map.