Newnham With Awre & Blakeney

Edmund Hammond, Freeman 1598, by his will of 1638 gave the Company a sum to purchase Church livings.
 
Newnham with Awre & Blakeney, Gloucestershire
 
Incumbent: The Revd Juliet Stephenson
Telephone: 01594 516648 
e-mail: juliet_stephenson@hotmail.com

The two livings purchased were Awre and Blakeney which were later combined with a neighbouring parish team to become"The United Benefice of Newnham with Awre and Blakeney".  All three Parishes continue to have their own feel and traditions.
 
Awre is a small rural community. It has no main road passing through it and has a population of around 160. It has a very high percentage of regular worshippers. The church is interesting, ancient and quite large, with a peal of 6 bells. The main road down the River Severn valley used to pass through the village and so in previous centuries it was somewhat more important than now.
 
Blakeney, by contrast, is a large geographical parish with a population of around 1500. It has a very small but highly committed congregation.

Revd Stephenson is keen to see the congregations grow, and hopes to establish mid-week informal gatherings, with an emphasis on nurture and hospitality. There are good links with the Primary Schools and children's work is developing well.