Places of Worship
There are three church buildings within the village of West Bergholt. Only two,
however, are functioning places of worship today. There is a further church
without their own premises who meet at the Orpen Hall.
The third church building, St Mary's Old Church, is no longer
in use.
St Mary the Virgin is the Anglican (Church of England) church in the village
and is in the diocese of Chelmsford. Led by the Rev Colin Horseman the
church maintains a detailed
website
where much more can be found about the church, its activities and history.
The Church is a group of people meeting regularly for worship, and to learn
more about God and the kind of life he wants us to live. Members come from
many different backgrounds, with different personalities, different
circumstances, different approaches, in fact representing lots of different
stages in their experience of God in their lives. That means that they offer a
real warmth of welcome to anyone who wants to share their journey of discovery
about the Christian faith and how to live it out as part of the village
community.
St Mary's holds regular services every Sunday at 9:30am with Holy Communion
on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Sunday each month and a Family Communion Service on the
3rd Sunday, as well as other services at other times (see their
website
for details) and, of course, the BUGS Sunday School. Where there is a 5th
Sunday in a month the 9:30 service focuses on a chosen charity. A wide
range of other activities are also associated with the
 church including kid's
activities, prayer groups, table tennis and even a monthly men's pub night!
The
church itself is situated on the corner of New Church Road and Church Close.
To find out more about St Mary's and its many activities contact Colin on
01206 271242 or by
email.
If you are not sure where the St Mary's Church is you can find it using
google maps
here.
The West Bergholt Methodist Church is one of a family of churches under the
pastoral care of Rev Ruth Ridge (the other churches being those in Boxted,
Eight Ash Green, Lexden and Marks Tey).
The church publishes a monthly newsletter for its members and friends called
'The Link' and this provides details of upcoming services and events.
Sunday services are normally held at 11am and are conducted by a different
person each week – this may be an ordained Minister or a Lay Preacher. A service
of Holy Communion is incorporated in the service at least once a month and a
joint Holy Communion with St. Mary’s is held in the Methodist Church on the 2nd
Tuesday of each month at 11am. Full details of all these services will always be
available in ‘The Link’.
The Women’s Fellowship meets in the Hall on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of
each month at 3pm, all ladies are welcome for fellowship and friendship.
The Wesley Guild meets fortnightly on Fridays from March to October in the Hall
at 7.30pm.
 Coffee
Morning, from 10am to 11am, is held in the Hall on the second Wednesday of each
month at which there are stalls selling Cakes, Greetings Cards and Bric-a-Brac.
The church is located on the junction of Chapel Road and Chapel Lane.
To find out more about the church and its many activities, contact Ruth by telephone
on 01787 273623 (h) or 01206 210141 (w) or by
email.
Enquiries about ‘The Link’ or requests for a copy should be directed to 01206 242152.
If you are not sure where the Methodist Church is you can find it using
google maps
here.
"The Fellowship" Pentecostal Church is a relative newcomer to the village
gathering in the John Lampon rooms at the rear of Orpen Memorial Hall every
Sunday morning at 10.30am for a time of worship and friendship. Everyone
is welcome to meet with them although it should be noted that they do have a
number of young families with children and their activities particularly reflect
this.
For further information phone 01206 520249.
The old St Mary's Church is no longer a functioning church. However, St
Mary's is open to the public at certain times of the year.
To find out more about the church check out the
history section of this site.
If you are not sure where St Mary's Old Church is you can find it using
google maps
here.
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