News & Diary
1. CURRENT NEWS ITEMS
GINA, OUR TEAM RECTOR, TO RETIRE – a message from Gina (Posted 5th July 2026)
Dear Friends,
I am writing to let you know that I will be retiring at the end of September.
It has not been an easy decision, but I feel strongly that it is the right one, and now is the time to move into the next part of my journey with God.
The churchwardens, Ministry Team and I will be working together over the next 3 months to ensure that things are in place for the interregnum.
The Mission Community is in a positive place, with excellent churchwardens, supportive and capable PCCs, a band of committed lay worship leaders, and a great Ministry Team.
In addition we will shortly be appointing a Pioneer Minister for Buckfastleigh.
I believe that God is working in this place, and that exciting things are in store, by His grace and with His guidance.
Please don’t start the goodbyes yet – we’ve a further 3 months together! I will let everyone know when my last Sunday will be, and arrangements for an appropriate send off.
With heartfelt thanks for all you have been to me and taught me; and wishing you all God’s blessings as we continue our walk with Him.
Gina,
Rev’d Prebendary Prof Gina Radford, Team Rector, Dart and Avon Mission Community
PRAYERS OF LOVE AND FAITH FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES (Posted 9th May 2026)
The Church of England General Synod has approved the use of prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and blessing for same-sex couples in partnerships and marriages, to take place within normal church services. In the Dart and Avon Mission Community we are now taking this up by offering the use of such prayers for any same-sex couples who wish – see the new section on the homepage.
As a church we at St Luke’s are committed to welcoming all.
There are two relevant in-house Bible study series on the media page.
LAY WORSHIP LEADERS COMMISSIONED (Posted 30th November 2025)
In a service at Rattery Church on 30th November five Lay Worship Leaders were commissioned. These are people who lead in the lay-led services in their own churches in our Mission Community. From St Luke’s this included Janet McLellan and Lisa Edwards (far left and second left in the photo) together with Cheryl Loverock from Staverton, Kate Field from Landscove and John Dean from Rattery. Also Alasdair James from St Luke’s and Val Hoare from Littlehempston were not available on the day, and so will be commissioned at a later date.
This is an exciting development for us, as we seek to grow lay leadership within the Mission Community. It was also an opportunity to celebrate and affirm all those who contribute to the life of our churches in so many different ways.
We welcome them and support them in prayer.
OUR NEW TEAM VICAR (Posted 15th May 2025)
Our new team vicar, the Rev Alex Holmes, was licensed in a very happy service in St Luke’s on May 6th. Alex will serve alongside our Team Rector, Gina Radford, with a special focus initially on ministry in Buckfastleigh and Dean Prior.
Alex will live in Buckfastleigh and will serve in the Dart & Avon Team on a half-time basis. In the other half of her time, Alex plans to continue her work towards a PhD in theology at the University of Exeter. The focus of her research is the fourth mark of mission as received in the churches of the Anglican Communion: transforming unjust structures of society, challenging violence of every kind, and pursuing peace and reconciliation.
2. ARCHIVED NEWS ITEMS
Problems with the church roof and with Holy Trinity Church
Unfortunately we are experiencing problems with our church roof being prone to leaks.
These have been evident for many years but are now getting worse.
A small committee was set up to examine the cause of the problem and to consider possible future action. The committee undertook initial engineering study work, which indicated the current roof technical design is unsuitable, requiring complete renewal of the roof covering to a new specification.
Committing to this would require a major financial investment but we are actively considering how best to proceed, and have set up a building committee to work on this, and our PCC (Parochial Church Council) is actively pursuing various options.
Further details will be released as they become clear. In the meantime we have completed necessary work on firmly securing some loose roof panels.
In addition in late 2019 it was found that the top of the walls of the ruin of Holy Trinity Church are unstable.
Until repair work can be done, signs have been erected to stop people entering the main part of the ruin, though the tower is safe and so the bells can continue to be rung.