Archbishop of Canterbury visits Chard

The Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury is conducting a tour of the Diocese of Bath and Wells this week, and stopped at St Mary's Church this morning.

The Revd Preb Sue Tucker from St Mary’s Chard said: “We don’t think an Archbishop of Canterbury has ever been to Chard before so it is very exciting.

"The church in Chard plays a significant role in people’s lives, even if they don’t attend every Sunday, there is a real sense that St Mary’s is their church and the fact that Archbishop Justin has taken time to visit us really resonates with them.”

Chard town councillor Amanda Broom said: "It was a real honour to be present at the service today, which specifically gave thanks to all those in the community of Chard who work tirelessly for our town.

"The Church was packed, and it is another real positive for Chard. The Archbishop gave a very good service, which encapsulated how uncertain things are at the moment in the world.

This year the church has welcomed a new curate and opened a new facility for the community, the @St Mary’s Centre.

After attending morning Eucharist at the church, Archbishop Justin toured the facilities of @St Mary’s and meet some people who use the centre.

The @St Mary’s Centre was opened in March 2016. It is the home to the Call the Midwife service that provides a new vital support network for mums-to-be, new mums, and other community groups.

The Revd Preb Sue Tucker was prompted to open the centre after she heard that midwife Becky Scott was looking for a base from which to support her work with mums, mums to be and to promote sexual health among young people.

It has since launched classes to teach English as a second language to town residents from Poland and Portugal.

@St Mary’s is based in the former school house in the grounds of St Mary’s Church and has been completely refurbished to provide a modern kitchen, community room, office space and toilet facilities.