About Us
Welcome to the page for St Andrew's, South Tawton. We belong to a growing family of churches in West Devon called the North Dartmoor Parishes, where everyone is welcome. For Jesus there are no 'outsiders'; the same is true for us.
St Andrew's has witnessed to the faithfulness of our God for many centuries and we pray that this will continue to be the case for many generations to come. People from across Devon helped to save this ancient church in 2015 and the whole roof was replaced. Now we want to press on and, working with friends in the community, repaint the interior, replace the heating and upgrade the lighting. Among the many historic features, you'll find over 100 carved roof bosses, including the increasingly famous Three Hares (NOT rabbits ; ) and a rather cheeky Sheelan-a-gig.
If you'd like more information about how you can support the Friends of St Andrew's & St Mary's please contact [email protected], thank you.
As a congregation we are also keen to grow in our faith, our ministry with families and young people and in serving our local villages. Our pattern of services USUALLY includes monthly Holy Communion (Common Worship) at 11.15am on the 1st Sunday, worship from the Iona and the Celtic Christian tradition, Evensong and Messy Church at the Victory Hall, South Zeal. There is a weekly time of prayer and meditation, open to all every Tuesday at 11am, called Soulspace at St Mary's* . Our church hosts a number of community events throughout the year - including our primary school's Christingle and Harvest celebrations, as well as musical concerts and a wonderfully raucous and inspiring Folk Festival service every August.
We are passionate about promoting bio-diversity and won the CPRE award for Devon's Best Churchyard in 2018 (we look forward to more honey from our bees this year). We are also a FairTrade church.
Adjacent to the church is the C15th Church House, still used regularly for meetings and social activities. The Church House is, like St Andrew's, a valuable community resource, and is open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the summer (also on Wednesdays July to September) serving morning coffees and cream teas. For more information visit www.thechurchhouse.org.uk
(* Our sister church is St Mary's, only a quarter of a mile away in South Zeal, and in the same parish. See separate entry).
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">As well as being open every day of the year, weekly services and community events, weekly worship is available every Sunday online; just look for the Youtube channel Chagford Church Online for the North Dartmoor Parishes www.youtube.com</span>
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">We look forward to welcoming you here.</span>
Revd Paul Seaton-Burn
Team Rector
PS. If you are interested in getting married here, please contact our excellent weddings co-ordinator Liz on [email protected]