A beautiful memorial has been created to remember three young soldiers from Dowland, near Winkleigh, who were killed during World War 1. The memorial was made to honour William Piper, 29, his brother Arthur, 21, and George Westcott, 21. It was discovered that four Piper brothers went to war. The third brother, Harry, passed away at the end of the war from influenza, so the family lost three sons. Whilst none of the Piper family remain in the village, George Westcott’s relatives are still farming in the parish. Following the discovery that there was no war memorial for these three young men, a ..read more

Residents of a Devon village have made a video encouraging more people to consider hosting a Ukrainian refugee family. The video is presented by 10-year-old Ailia from Ukraine, who is now living with her mother and sister in Walkhampton, near Tavistock. It has been made on behalf of the Diocese of Exeter, which has been working with the charity Citizens UK, to offer Ukrainian guests a home in Devon. So far 34 families (89 people) have been housed by the Diocese across the county but there are still at least 26 families (55 people) awaiting matching. The Diocese of Exeter is seeking possible ho ..read more

The Rev’d Jeremy Putnam has recently joined the Diocese of Exeter staff team as a Giving Advisor. Jeremy recently moved to East Devon to take up a House for Duty post in the Honiton Deanery after spending the last seven years as a Priest in Charge in Truro. In his diocesan role Jeremy will be supporting churches with mission resources, such as the Parish Giving Scheme, contactless giving and church grants. Jeremy said “I am looking forward to visiting deaneries and PCCs and to helping support the mission of the church across the diocese. A contactless giving device in St Raphael’s Church, Huc ..read more

Devon’s bishops have been attending a national meeting of the College of Bishops in the latest stage in the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith (LLF) discernment process about matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. The Bishop of Crediton, the Rt Rev’d Jackie Searle, is the Diocese of Exeter’s LLF advocate and said “In September the Church of England published ‘Listening with Love and Faith,’ gathering the responses from churchwide engagement with Living in Love and Faith. Bishop Jackie and Bishop Robert with General Synod representatives at an LLF prayer event in ..read more

A Church of England Environment Officer from Devon is one of just three people from the UK to have been chosen to attend COP27 as an official observer for the Christian Climate Observers Program. Lydia Perris, 23, is the Social Justice and Creation Care Officer for the Diocese of Exeter. The international COP27 (Conference of the Parties) climate summit is taking place in Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt and runs from 7 to 18 November, 2022. This meeting is significant as it will be the first meeting since the Paris Climate Accord, adopted in 2015, has been in full effect. Important preparations will b ..read more

Engaged couples with their families and friends had the opportunity to explore the possibility of getting married in their local Devon Church at a recent wedding fair. The Devon Church Weddings team had a stand at the Wedding Extravaganza at Westpoint, Exeter, and met many couples who are planning their big day. The team of volunteers, made up of clergy and lay people, say they love meeting, and talking with, soon-to-be-married couples and their loved ones and helping match them with a church near them for their wedding. With nearly 600 locations, getting married in Devon offers couples beauti ..read more

A new book has been published by Sacha Pearce and Jan Collis, both long serving hospital chaplains at Derriford Hospital. Their book Creating Space: Story, Reflection and Practice explores the ministry and professional role of healthcare chaplains. The title is inspired by the authors’ desire to reflect on their ministry, develop their practise and share their story. The pair said, “This was the whole purpose of the book. It is a reflection which, in turn, documents and underlines our daily commitment to reflect on our work, our role as chaplains, our practice, and the way we work with our pas ..read more

The new Bishop of Plymouth has been officially welcomed into his new role during an Installation service at Exeter Cathedral. The service is an historic one at which a new bishop is asked to swear a vow of allegiance to the King, the Bishop of Exeter and the Cathedral. Traditionally the bishop is also given a loaf of bread. During the Choral Evensong on Sunday 9 October, The Rt Rev’d James Grier was presented to the Bishop of Crediton, who asked him to share with her and the Bishop of Exeter in their mission to lead “the people of God” in the Diocese by helping them to grow in prayer, make new ..read more

An independent review of the Diocese of Exeter’s past safeguarding cases found that its safeguarding practises are “robust” with effective governance and oversight of safeguarding, a highly experienced and motivated safeguarding team and excellent recording of safeguarding cases. Stephen White, Independent Chair of the Diocese of Exeter Safeguarding Advisory Panel said “I am pleased with the outcome of the PCR2 process for Exeter Diocese. “As the Independent Chair, I am reassured the Exeter Diocese places safeguarding at the heart of daily church activities to ensure a safe environment for the ..read more

The Rev’d Jenny Nightingale has been licensed as the new Chaplain of Exeter School by the Bishop of Crediton, the Rt Rev’d Jackie Searle. The service on Monday 3 October featured pupils from the school, including its chamber choir. School children also helped to lead the prayers alongside the new chaplain. Licensing a priest means they have been approved to work in a particular ministerial role by their bishop. Bishop Jackie’s sermon drew on the Bible stories of the lamp on a stand, the growing seed and the mustard seed. She encouraged Rev’d Nightingale to “take note” of where sees of faith we ..read more