St Margaret's Church

Welcome to our church pages. St Margaret's is the parish church of Westhorpe and is situated on the main road through the village. St Margaret's is part of the Badwell and Walsham Benefice. The Benefice comprises the six churches of Walsham le Willows, Badwell Ash, Finningham, Langham, Wattisfield and Westhorpe. One priest has responsibility for all the churches.

Our Priest-in-Charge is the Reverend Philip Merry. Reverend Merry lives in The Rectory, The Causeway, Walsham-le-Willows and his telephone number is 01359 258806.

Philip was licensed by Bishop Mike in April this year. After a long period of interregnum, it was with real pleasure that we welcomed him and his wife, Denise, into our Benefice. He may be contacted on the telephone number above.

At Westhorpe our general pattern is to hold two services a month plus additional services for festivals such as Easter, Harvest and Christmas. Currently, the first service of the month tends to be Holy Communion. Everyone is welcome to this service which begins at 10 am and lasts for about 50 minutes. The taking of Communion, i.e. the bread and the wine, is completely optional and if you are not confirmed in the Church of England or prefer to do so, it is fine to remain in your seat during this part of the service. Our second service of the month is Evensong which is taken from the Book of Common Prayer. The service starts at 3pm in the winter and 6pm after the clocks go forward in March. Evensong is a short service and many people find that listening to the beautiful words and responses of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer provides a time of solace and peace in our busy lives.

It is possible that our pattern of services may be changed slightly in the future as Philip settles in to his new role. Services and times are always posted on the church notice board facing the road.

So, please come along to church if you would like to. Our congregation may be small in number but very friendly. Services at Harvest, Remembrance Sunday and Christmas are well attended by local people - many of whom contribute to the service, for example, by reading or playing instruments.

Rosemary Mees, Churchwarden

St Margaret, Westhorpe, is at the east side of the village on the road to Walsham-le-Willows. The church is open during the day from around 9a.m. to 6p.m. during the summer or daylight hours in winter.

CONTACT

The Benefice of Badwell and Walsham

Priest in charge: Rev. Philip John Merry

Lay Reader: Mr Ian Jackson 01449 781392

Churchwarden

Mrs Rosemary Mees 01449 780394

To find contacts further afield in the Benefice, The Deanery or the Diocese click on the following link to the Diocesan website.

https://www.cofesuffolk.org/