Deanery Synod meetings
Deanery Synods are formal meetings, which are mainly for information and discussion about mission and ministry in the area. Occasionally they are required to take formal decisions, sometimes by means of a vote. All Licensed Clergy in the Deanery are automatically members of the Chapter and Deanery Synod. Deanery Synods also have Lay Members, i.e. those who are not Clergy. Every three years, Annual Parochial Church Meetings elect their Lay representatives to Deanery Synods. The Lay representatives form the electorate for the House of Laity on the Diocesan and General Synod.
Deanery Synod meetings for Basildon in 2026 are as follows:
Unveiled
A regular Friday night arts and performance event at St Andrew’s Church, 7.00 – 9.00 pm, 11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN.
Exhibitions, open mic nights, performances, talks and more!
Spring Programme 2026
These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs. See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.
Fear not, for I am with you: An exhibition of religious paintings by David Sowerby
9 January – 3 April 2026
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN
St Andrew’s is usually open: Sat 9am-12.30pm; Sun 9.30am-12 noon; Mon 2-3.45pm; Tue 1-4.30pm; Wed 10am-12 noon; Fri 10am-1pm. https://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html
David Sowerby
Born 24th October 1954
Studied Foundation at Middlesbrough Art College
BA (hons) Art and Design at The Central School of Art (London)
I worked as a freelance illustrator and teacher throughout my life and eventually retired as a Principal Lecturer at The University of the Arts London.
I now support a range of charities, both local and national, via my mutual interest and fascination with art and creativity.
An earlier exhibition was just prior to the first lockdown which was held at The Transition, Chelmsford, with proceeds going towards The British Heart Foundation raised just over £6,000.
I continue to support local and national charities, contributing a large percentage of any sales to such charitable organisations and causes.
My work can be viewed on my Facebook pages, search for David Sowerby with more available to view at Sowerbycreations (Facebook again)
Tickets now available via Ticketsource for this powerful Easter production by Riding Lights “Night Falls”. This is the only production within Chelmsford Diocese so do book your tickets early!
***Quiz Night***
Our next fundraising event is Fri 6th March in St Mary’s Church High St Billericay.
Teams of 6/8 people needed, please see poster for all details and how to purchase tickets, bring your own drink & nibbles.
PLEASE COULD ONE PERSON PURCHASE THE TICKETS FOR THE WHOLE TEAM IF POSSIBLE. THANKS
https://billericayfoodbank.eventbrite.co.uk/
St Andrews Church Hall, SS12 OHZ
Visit: Fr Spencer Reece
8 – 12 April, Parish of Wickford and Runwell
Fr Spencer is Rector of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wickford, Rhode Island, and an internationally acclaimed poet. His project teaching poetry to abandoned girls at the Our Little Roses orphanage in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was made into an award-winning film, Voices Beyond the Wall: 12 Love Poems from the Murder Capital of the World. His dream, prayer, and ultimate goal for his time with St. Paul’s Church is to continue the ongoing work of the parish in spreading Jesus’ radical love. “Let kindness be our legacy,” he has said.
http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/
https://www.stpaulswickford.org/
https://www.spencerreece.org/
Meet Fr Spencer at:
8 April – Midweek Eucharist, 10.30 am, St Andrew’s Wickford
8 April – Bread for the World Service, 6.30 pm, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London (Fr Spencer will share a reflection on the road to Emmaus)
9 April – ‘The Broken Altar’, a talk on George Herbert, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Lower Bemerton (Fr Spencer is giving this talk at the invitation of the George Herbert in Bemerton group – https://www.georgeherbert.org.uk/about/ghb_group.html)
10 April – Unveiled: Poetry Reading, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Wickford
11 April – Quiet Day: Poetry & Prayer, 10.30 am – 3.30 pm, St Mary’s Runwell (Fr Spencer will share poems and reflections on George Herbert)
12 April – Eucharist, 9.30 am, St Mary’s Runwell and Eucharist, 11.00 am, St Catherine’s Wickford (Fr Spencer will preach at both of these services); 4.00 pm, Showing of Voices Beyond the Wall, St Andrew’s Wickford
SPENCER REECE, 36th rector of St. Paul’s Wickford, Rhode Island, is a Guggenheim Fellow and Whiting Fellow. Reece’s first book, The Clerk’s Tale, was selected for the Bakeless Prize by Nobel Laureate Louise Glück. Reece was ordained in Madrid, Spain, in 2011. Awarded a Fulbright, he taught poetry at Our Little Roses in San Pedro, Honduras, where he lived with the rescued girls at the home. The work was made into an award-winning film, Voices Beyond the Wall: 12 Love Poems from the Murder Capital of the World. The poems by the girls were made into an anthology edited by Reece, entitled Counting Time Like People Count Stars. In 2014 he published The Road to Emmaus which was a longlist nominee for the National Book Award and short-listed for the Griffin Prize. He moved to Madrid and assisted the Episcopal Bishop of Spain for a decade. During this time, he created The Unamuno Author Series, culminating in the first-ever anglophone literary festival in Madrid in 2019. In 2022, he published The Secret Gospel of Mark: A Poet’s Memoir and All The Beauty Still Left: A Poets’ Painted Book of Hours. Acts, a third book of poems, appeared in 2024. At St. Paul’s, he created the 14 Gold Street Author Series. In 2025, he was awarded the John Updike Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for the “elegant standards” of his contribution to the literary arts. Farewell Symphony his fourth collection of poems will be published in 2028. In 2034, Love IV: Collected Poems is scheduled to appear.
Vandalism at St Margaret’s Bowers Gifford
Wickford Church of England School shortlisted for national award
Not only is The Wickford Church of England School rated an Outstanding School by Ofsted, but it has also been on the shortlist of this year’s Times Educational Supplement awards for Primary School of the Year.
Check out this article in The Echo about the school being shortlisted for this prestigious award.
Miss Bristow, Head of School, says of the School:
“The school provides education for children from the ages of 2-7 in the local area. As a team, we aim to create a respectful, caring and secure place for children to explore, learn and be happy together. As a distinctively Christian school, spirituality is at the heart of all we do and we are supported in doing this by the close links we have with the Wickford and Runwell Parish.”
Jon Severs, editor of Tes Magazine said: “Congratulations to all the shortlisted entries – the standard was so high this year despite the challenges schools face.
“It is critical we celebrate excellence and share it widely so we can ensure that the fantastic work happening in education is properly recognised.”
Wickford Church of England School is part of The HEARTS Academy Trust, which was established in 2011 and is inspired by its values of happiness, self-esteem, achievement, respect & responsibility, truth, spirituality and service. The Trust was founded by The Wickford Church of England School, and also now includes Briscoe Primary School and Nursery, Waterman Primary School, Stambridge Primary School, Hilltop Junior School and Hilltop Infant School. In 2018 they were proud to open The Atrium, a specialist alternative provision for children with social and emotional needs.
HEARTS Academy Trust are also extremely proud to announce that their CEO, Mrs Debbie Rogan, has been given the prestigious Pearson Silver Award for Lifetime Achievement. This year saw exceptionally high-quality entries from educational settings across the UK with Debbie being highlighted as a particularly strong candidate.
Bronze Award for Wickford and Runwell MU
Wickford and Runwell Mothers’ Union Branch has been awarded a bronze award for their support and raising awareness of domestic abuse using the Rise Up campaign. Two members were invited to the head office, Mary Sumner House, in London in recognition of this.
St George’s Day celebrations
Rev. David Ibiayo, Rector of St. Chad, Vange, and Priest-In-Charge of St. Margaret’s Bowers Gifford with North Benfleet, shares the reasons why St Chad’s Vange has a special annual celebration of St George’s Day:
“We sometimes tell people things we are up to, and their response to what we tell them is sometimes heartwarming. You can imagine saying the following to a friend, “I am going into hospital next week for a minor procedure,” and then the friend responds, “I will be thinking of you” or “I will be praying for you.” I am sure this will make you feel good.
The question I ask myself is this, in addition to what the Church of England is already doing in England, what more can the Church of England do? Hence my suggestion is this, the church should make the most of St. George’s Day, which can also be seen as England’s national day.
The Church of England can use this day to remind everyone in England that the church is praying for their wellbeing and hoping the best for them in whatever situation they are in, and that the church is also praying that we can be good neighbours to each other.
Every year at St. Chad, Vange, we celebrate St. George’s Day, and as part of the celebration we invite four primary schools to church to be part of our St. George’s Day Schools’ Celebration. Each school then talks about the values of their schools and how it is beneficial to the community.
Just imagine on the 23rd of April every year we are able to wish each other happy St. George’s day, wishing the best for our neighbours, this will definitely transform the beautiful green and pleasant land – England, where we live.
Although as a church we think of everyone every day, it is important we can be emphatic every year on the 23rd of April letting everyone in England know that we are praying for them, and also praying for other countries who are our neighbours.
The Church of England as a national church should find opportunities to show their relevance in the everyday life of people in England.”
From Hong Kong to Wickford
Rail & Street Pastor
Mike Tricker was licenced in October 2020 as a Licensed Lay Minister (LLM) in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. He says that he “was called an evangelist disguised as an LLM”, and that “there is some truth in that”. He thinks preaching is the same thing; that is, meeting people where they are and trying to bring Jesus alive in our lives. He has sat himself down in Costa, prayer tents, street kitchens, and wherever he can find to talk about the good news from the early days of his faith.
He also started training as a Street and Rail Pastor to continue that theme of bringing Jesus to the fringes. Street pastors are trained volunteers from local churches who care about their community. They patrol in teams of men and women, on a Friday and Saturday night, to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.
A street pastor is someone who is…
Mike has written about his experience as Street and Rail Pastor for ‘Transforming Ministry’. His article is called ‘Being Christ’s Hands on the Streets’ and is about his call to the fringes of society as expressed through his work as a Street Pastor. ‘Transforming Ministry’ is a magazine that equips, challenges and transforms its readers and their ministry. This excellent publication, sent to most Readers (LLM)s, includes news, articles by members of the CRC, and theological articles following a theme for each issue. Many Readers (LLMs) find this an excellent resource for information, learning and reflection.
Mike writes: “For me the pastor network is a practical theology in action. In Matthew 25:31-46 when the disciples asked, when did we see you hungry. Jesus answers them “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”.
A patrol with the street pastors is seeking out members of Jesus creation and showing them and therefore our Lord love. I have at times felt closer to Jesus on a cold night talking to someone in need of help, than I have at the eucharist. These are truly the thinnest moments of my life, where the divide between heaven and earth is very thin indeed.”
He also says: “I love my role and all the opportunities that it gives to talk about our Lord to everyone and bring his love to a world that so desperately needs it.” Mike posts his sermons at https://christianpathway.net/
https://streetpastors.org/locations/basildon/ / https://streetpastors.org/locations/billericay/
Cast & Crew Theatre Workshop
Rev Trudy Arnold is a founder member and committee member of Cast & Crew Theatre Workshop, a popular community amateur theatre company on Canvey Island. A laid back and friendly group, C&C are always welcoming new members and offering a chance to try your hand onstage and behind the scenes. Heaps of social events and theatre trips take place within the group and all established members get the chance to direct and stage manage as well as act or be an important part of the backstage crew. They are an active and friendly group who manage to fit social events, charity fund raising and group fund raising into their busy rehearsal schedules. In 2023 C&C performed a Murder Mystery at St Andrew’s Basildon to raise funds for the Restoration of Holy Cross Church. https://www.castandcrew.uk/
Fresh Claim & Plankton Records
Rev Simon Law formed the blues/rock/funk band Fresh Claim following the demise of his previous bands “Sea Stone” and “Intransit”, the bands that he had fronted throughout the late seventies and early eighties. Simon was, and still remains, Fresh Claim’s guitarist and vocalist, although now also plays solo and with the Law Family Banned. Fresh Claim formed in 1986 and released nine albums. The band name came after Simon visited the local (then named) Unemployment Benefit Office and had to go to the (then named) ‘Fresh Claims’ counter! Given the political situation at the time, and the fact that Fresh Claim’s aim has always been to communicate the Christian Faith and how it relates to life today through great music – it was a good choice!
Simon is also a founding partner of Plankton Records which has, since 1978, been one of the UK’s few independent grassroots Christian-based record labels. With over 70 releases under our belt, they primarily aim to offer a platform to artists whose music has something to say about and to the world and the human condition – songs which may in the past have come under the wide encompassing banner of ‘protest songs’.
Watch the video for Simon’s song ‘The Haven’.
Exhibition Reviews & Articles
Revd Jonathan Evens writes regularly on the Arts for a range of mainstream and church publications including Artlyst, ArtWay, Church Times, International Times, Seen & Unseen and Stride. In his writing, he aims to highlight artists that engage with aspects of spirituality and document ways in which the Church engages effectively with the Arts. He has also sought to practice what he preaches by undertaking cultural programming within his parishes and supporting artists by running for 11 years an artist’s collective called commission4mission.
In addition to his Arts journalism, he also writes poetry and short stories, some of which have been published by Amethyst Review, International Times and Stride. He is co-author of The Secret Chord, an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief.
The Secret Chord is an accessible exploration of artistic dilemmas from a range of different perspectives which seeks to draw the reader into a place of appreciation for what makes a moment in a ‘performance’ timeless and special. He has also contributed to ‘All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich’, ‘Finding Abundance in Scarcity: Steps Towards Church Transformation – A HeartEdge Handbook’, and ‘Liturgy on the Edge: Pastoral & Attractional Worship’. He blogs at joninbetween.blogspot.com.
Check out Jonathan’s Arts journalism at the following sites: Artlyst; ArtWay (put Evens in the search box); Church Times; International Times; Seen & Unseen; and Stride. Read ‘The Secret Chord’. Hear Jonathan read his poem for ‘All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich’.
