St Alkmund's

Holy Immanuel, Fauls:

Sunday service at  9.30am

Christ Church, Tilstock:

Sunday service at 11.00am 

St Alkmund’s, Whitchurch:

Sunday services: 8.00am, 10.00am, 6.30pm 

The main morning services are usually Common Worship Communion except on the 1st Sunday of the month, at  Fauls and Tilstock All Age Worship* takes place, and at Whitchurch on this Sunday a ‘Worship Together' Communion Service*  is held.

*All ages are welcome at all our services but you may like to note that an * is next to those services which are a little shorter and which may be particularly suitable for children. At Whitchurch, there is separate provision for children (Junior Church) and young people (Sermon Slot) on 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sundays.

 Fifth Sundays are often used for a Joint Service in one of the three churches, usually at 10.30am.

 POSTCODES FOR OUR CHURCHES

Fauls—SY13 2AS    Tilstock—SY13 3JL    Whitchurch—SY13 1LB

You can find each parish on 'A Church Near You'

Staffing and working together:

The clergy staffing for The FTW Benefice is:

The Rector of Fauls, Tilstock & Whitchurch (full-time stipendiary) based mainly at Whitchurch and with overall responsibility for the whole benefice.  (Please note that we are currently in Vacancy)

The Revd Sue Armstrong Associate Minister of the FTW (Permission to Officiate, previous OLM) and based mainly at Fauls.

FTW Lay Reader Mrs Jane Rylands

Administrative support is provided by Mrs Alison Dunne, working from the office in St Alkmund’s Church, Whitchurch, 01948 667102, email at ftwstalkmunds@gmail.com

Our Reader and Clergy move around the parishes on Sundays to lead and preach at services in all three churches.

We have a Co-Ordinating Group with representation from each parish. This body has the task of looking at different options of how the three parishes can best work together in mission and ministry; recommendations are then made to the individual PCCs. This group also facilitates joint events and aids the process of discerning what is best done at parish level and what would benefit from being at benefice level.

Geographical Setting

The parishes of Fauls, Tilstock, and Whitchurch are set in the beautiful countryside of north Shropshire.  Shrewsbury and Chester can be reached in 35 minutes and the North Wales coast is approximately one hour’s drive away.

 This grouping encompasses one Market Town (Whitchurch with a population of around 10,000) and two more rural parishes which cover a large area and have a total population of approximately 1,260. The parishes are quite distinct: the parish of Tilstock is three miles to the south of Whitchurch and Fauls is another 4 miles south, just off the A41.  

Schools

The three parishes combined have two CoE Primary Schools, one CoE Infant and Nursery School and one CoE Junior School. Each school holds regular services in its local church. Also, in Whitchurch, there is Sir John Talbot’s (SJT) Secondary School. Links are good with all the schools. Whitchurch Junior and Whitchurch Infant Academies are federated and belong to St Barts MAT. Lower Heath (Fauls) and Tilstock Primary schools, together with SJT, belong to the Marches MAT.

Joint projects

The opportunities taken in working together have been fruitful for clergy, lay leaders and the congregations of our three parishes:

Nurture courses

These have included modules from the Pilgrim Course and joint Confirmation preparation groups for young people and for adults. We have also looked at “Frontline” material and done the Growing Bridgebuilders and Faith Pictures Courses. There have also been comprehensive Safeguarding Training sessions for the three parishes which have additionally  been opened up to other churches in the area.

Time Together

This is a group meeting twice a month for those with Memory Loss / Dementia and their family members or carers. Its aim is to provide social, mental and spiritual support, plus some physical activity in a warm and loving atmosphere.

Hospital Chaplaincy

There is a Community Hospital in Whitchurch which serves a wide area. From the autumn of 2015, we have developed a Chaplaincy Team which has both lay and ordained members and is ecumenical.

Lent and Advent events

We have a programme of these events which take place in various locations in the parishes and St Alkmund’s also has close links with Churches Together in Whitchurch, joins in with a range of joint services with them.

Rogation Services

We have a joint evening Rogation Service on a farm in in one of the three parishes on a rota basis. These services, which are usually followed by refreshments, are well attended and very much enjoyed.