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Welcome to the web site of the Six Parishes of the Beckbury Group in the Deanery of Edgmond & Shifnal in the diocese of Lichfield:
Badger - Beckbury - Ryton - Kemberton - Sutton Maddock - Stockton.
These six parishes in Shropshire between Telford and Bridgnorth were united in 1989, but within living memory each had its own rector or vicar. The combined population of the six parishes is no more than 1300, with 350 in the largest village of Beckbury, where the home of the rector is located.
Rectors and Vicars
These old titles used to distinguish the source of income for parish clergy; 'rectors' received 'tithes' (10%) of the produce of the parish farm land; 'vicars' received a smaller amount. The names are now retained simply as an indication of local historical tradition. Here the title 'rector' living in 'the rectory' has continued.
Services
The newsletters on this web site provide details of services across the six parishes.
As there are no other chapels or churches in the villages, we welcome those of other denominations to worship and work with us, and to receive communion with us.
Church Buildings
The churches are generally open in the day for visitors to look around as well as for parishioners to spend a quiet moment in prayer and reflection. You will find brief guides at each of the churches as well as here on this web site.
The Christian Faith
All churches have signs and symbols of Christianity; ours are no exception.
The font is the starting point, and in our six churches they are near the entrance door to symbolise that baptism (often called christening) is the ceremony which expresses the beginning of the relationship with Jesus Christ. In the baptism service we say,
"God, we thank you for the gift of water to cleanse us and revive us".
The lectern and pulpit symbolise teaching and learning based on the bible, and remind us of the invitation to be disciples of Jesus, growing and developing in our faith and service. One of the Church's prayers begins,
"Almighty God, we thank you for the gift of your holy word.
May it be a lantern to our feet, a light to our paths and a strength to our lives....."
The organ is regularly used in our Sunday services. Sung hymns are a vital part of Christian worship. St Paul wrote,
"speak to one another with the words of psalms, hymns and sacred songs; sing to the Lord with praise in your hearts".
The communion table / altar are for the strange Christian food of bread and wine which Jesus made into symbols of his body and blood on Good Friday, and also as food for a fellowship meal with him. In one church prayer we say,
"we thank you for nourishing us with these heavenly gifts:
may our communion strengthen us in faith, build us up in hope, and make us grow in love".
Weddings
Occasionally people ask about being married in one of our pretty churches in its lovely countryside or village setting. The legal regulations state that church members and residents who live in the parishes are eligible to be married at their local parish church. Other people still have a legal qualifying connection with a church which allows them to marry there
if they used to live in the parish;
if they were baptised at the church;
if a parent lives in the parish;
if a parent used to live in the parish (for at least 6 months during the person's lifetime);
if their parents or grandparents married at the church;
Registers
While some of our old parish registers (and all marriage registers) are now at the county archives in Shrewsbury, we still have some registers here dating back over a hundred years. Contact the rector by phone or email if you wish to find about a particular baptism or burial register for one of the six parishes.
We hope that you find on this web site the information you want.
Contacts:
During the interregnum please contact the following
for enquiries about weddings, funerals and baptisms:
Badger:
Sue Pearce
Email: pearcesh@gmail.com
Beckbury:
David & Beryl Tooth Tel: 01952 750324
Email: davidtooth.salop@gmail.com
Kemberton:
Teresa Moss
Email: teresa@gzillion.com
Ryton:
Caroline Dady
Email: carolinedady@hotmail.co.uk
Stockton:
Gavin Hamilton Tel: 0789 604 4181
Email: gavin_hamilton@outlook.com
Sutton Maddock:
John Webb Tel: 07770 754545
Email: webb.john@me.com
The six parishes of the Beckbury Group lie south of Shifnal and the conurbation of Telford between the A442 (Telford/Bridgnorth road) and the A464 (Shifnal/Wolverhampton road). The parishes are situated in the lovely Shropshire countryside, but within easy reach of all the main towns of the area. Click here to see all the villages on small scale map. This will be shown in a separate window. You will be able to see more detailed maps on the individual parish pages.
The various activities can be found mainly in the monthly newsletters..
The group churches now produce 3 newsletters on a regular basis.
No. 1 covers Beckbury, Badger and Ryton
No. 2 covers Sutton Maddock and Stockton
No. 3 covers Kemberton.
You may download the following newsletters as PDFs to read them at your leisure.
Click here to download the November 23 Newsletter No. 1(580 Kb)
Click here to download the October 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.2 Mb)
Click here to download the November 23 Newsletter No. 3(1.2Mb)
Click here to download the October 23 Newsletter No. 1(740 Kb)
Click here to download the October 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.25 Mb)
Click here to download the October 23 Newsletter No. 3(49 Kb)
Click here to download the September 23 Newsletter No. 1(575 Kb)
Click here to download the September 23 Newsletter No. 3(236 Kb)
Click here to download the August 23 Newsletter No. 1(355 Kb)
Click here to download the August 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.16 Mb)
Click here to download the Augussept3 Newsletter No. 3(231 Kb)
Click here to download the July 23 Newsletter No. 1(470 Kb)
Click here to download the July 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.33 Mb)
Click here to download the July 23 Newsletter No. 3(250 Kb)
Click here to download the June 23 Newsletter No. 1(2.24 Mb)
Click here to download the June 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.42 Mb)
Click here to download the May 23 Newsletter No. 1(310 Kb)
Click here to download the May 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.36 Mb)
Click here to download the May 23 Newsletter No. 3(120 Kb)
Click here to download the April Newsletter No. 1(395 Kb)
Click here to download the April 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.3 Mb)
Click here to download the March 23 Newsletter No. 1(120 Kb)
Click here to download the March 23 Newsletter No. 2 (1.3 Mb)
Click here to download the March 23 Newsletter No. 3(396 Kb)
Click here to download history request
Click here to download the February 23 Newsletter No. 1(520 Kb)
Click here to download the February 23 Newsletter No. 2(1.09 Mb)
Click here to download the February 23 Newsletter No. 3(335 Kb)
Click here to download the December 22 /January 23 Newsletter No. 1(265 Kb)
Click here to download the December 22 /January 23 Newsletter No. 2(2.1Mb)
Click here to download the December 22 /January 23 Newsletter No. 3(265Kb)
Click here to download the November 22 Newsletter No. 1(800 Kb)
Click here to download the November 22 Newsletter No. 2(1Mb)
Click here to download the November 22 Newsletter No. 3(52Kb)
Click here to download the October 22 Newsletter No. 1(385 Kb)
Click here to download the October 22 Newsletter No. 2(753Kb)
Click here to download the October Newsletter No. 3(216Kb)
Click here to download the September 22 Newsletter No. 1(575 Kb)
Click here to download the September 22 Newsletter No. 2(757Kb)
Click here to download the September Newsletter No. 3(110Kb)
Click here to download the August 22 Newsletter No. 1(260 Kb)
Click here to download the August 22 Newsletter No. 2(760Kb)
Click here to download the August22 Newsletter No. 3(105Kb)
Click here to download the July 2022 Newsletter No. 1(1.27Mb)
Click here to download the July 2022 Newsletter No. 2(930Kb)
Click here to download the July 2022 Newsletter No. 3(630Kb)
Click here to download the June 2022 Newsletter No. 1(730 Kb)
Click here to download the June 2022 Newsletter No. 2(1.15Mb)
Click here to download the June 2022 Newsletter No. 3(116Kb)
Click here to download the May 2022 Newsletter No. 2(.9Mb)
Click here to download the May 2022 Newsletter No. 3(.9Mb)
Click here to download the April 2022 Newsletter No. 2(1.8Mb)
Click here to download the April 2022 Newsletter No. 3(126Kb)
Click here to download the March 2022 Newsletter No. 1(235 Kb)
Click here to download the March 2022 Newsletter No. 2(1.88Mb)
Click here to download the March 2022 Newsletter No. 3(114Kb)
Click here to download the February 2022 Newsletter No. 1(255 Kb)
Click here to download the February 2022 Newsletter No. 2(1.8Mb)
Click here to download the December 2021 / January 2022 Newsletter No. 1(450 Kb)
Click here to download the December 2021 / January 2022 Newsletter No. 2(1.77Mb)
Click here to download the November 2021 Newsletter No. 1(520 Kb)
Click here to download the Noveber 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.8Mb)
Click here to download the October 2021 Newsletter No. 1(580 Kb)
Click here to download the October 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.7Mb)
Click here to download the September 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.8Mb)
Click here to download the August 2021 Newsletter No. 1(541 Kb)
Click here to download the August 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.9Mb)
Click here to download the July 2021 Newsletter No. 1(545 Kb)
Click here to download the July 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.8Mb)
Click here to download the May 2021 Newsletter No. 1(700 Kb)
Click here to download the May 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.7 Mb)
Click here to download the April 2021 Newsletter No. 1(465 Kb)
Click here to download the April 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.7 Mb)
Click here to download the March 2021 Newsletter No. 1(419 Kb)
Click here to download the March 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.6 Mb)
Click here to download the February 2021 Newsletter No. 1(436 Kb)
Click here to download the February 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.6 Mb)
Click here to download the December 2020 / January 2021 Newsletter No. 1(1.9 Mb)
Click here to download the December 2020 / January 2021 Newsletter No. 2(1.75 Mb)
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Beckbury Group Ministry Privacy Policy
Click here to see our Privacy Policy which is a pdf document.
More detailed maps of each parish can be found on the individual parish pages.
The Services at our various churches can be found in the monthly newsletter (see above). We welcome Christians from all denominations to share communion with us.
If you wish to comment on the design of the site then please contact the webmaster:
Wilf Beeson - Email: beckbury@wbeeson.co.uk
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