Spiritual Health & Wellbeing

Health is not just the absence of disease, it is a state of physical, psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing”

Wellness is thought of today as encompassing mind, body, and spirit. This includes our physical, mental, emotional, sexual, social, and spiritual health. Spiritual wellness embodies faith, beliefs, values, ethics, principles and morals. This section sets out the spiritual activities, groups and organisations in or close to Winchcombe.

In Winchcombe and villages

Churches Together in Winchcombe

Churches Together in Winchcombe is where the 4 churches in the town come together to seek God, share the gospel and serve the community. CTW is a community organisation with a reputation for serving the whole neighbourhood. Our projects are designed to benefit people of any faith or none and have included gift bags, fish & chip meals and spring bulbs for those shielding during the Covid pandemic; and tea parties to help older, isolated residents emerge from lockdown.

Regular activities include The Way of the Cross on Good Friday, joint worship during the World Day of Prayer each March and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity each January and fundraising for Christian Aid and Macmillan Cancer support. CONTACT Janet Dufton, Secretary TELEPHONE 01242 603387 EMAIL churchesinwinchcombe@gmail.com

Ecumenical Life Group

A Life Group for members of any church or none to grow in faith, make friends, encourage each other and learn more about God and Jesus. We currently have members from all 4 churches in Winchcombe and further afield.

CONTACT Gill Cocks TELEPHONE 01242 604341 EMAIL churchesinwinchcombe@gmail.com Encounter Church Worship & Prayer

Encounter is a church that believes in Jesus, a church that loves God and people. Overwhelmed by the gift of grace we have found in Jesus, we have a heart for authentic worship, are passionate about the local church, and are on mission to see God’s kingdom established across the earth.

Sunday celebrations are held every Sunday at 10am. They are also held online. Open Space private prayer and reflection is held weekly on Thursdays at 1011am. Firefall is a corporate prayer meeting held on the 4th Monday of every month where we gather to Worship, Listen, Pray and Encourage one another. For more details please get in touch. ADDRESS Gretton Road, Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5EE TELEPHONE 01242 604552 EMAIL info@encounterchurch.org.uk WEB https://www.encounterchurch.org.uk/

Encounter Church Life Groups

To help you find people you enjoy spending time with who will encourage you to grow in your faith. Life Groups are at the heart of our community, providing space to make friends, and get together for fun, growth and encouragement. In a Life Group, you can connect with 8-12 people and take the conversation to a deeper level. Life Groups meet in different areas of our region and on different nights of the week, weekly or every other week. For details get in touch with the Encounter Church Manager on the number below ADDRESS Gretton Road, Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5EE TELEPHONE 01242 604552 EMAIL info@encounterchurch.org.uk WEB https://www.encounterchurch.org.uk/life-groups

Spiritual Health& Wellbeing

Methodists have been worshipping in Winchcombe since John Wesley’s days. We are renowned for our love of congregational singing; the joys of meeting together for food and company; involvement in community service; non-conformism and the strong lay involvement of the congregation in organising the local church within the formal structure of national Methodism. We meet for worship every Sunday at 10.30am when worship is led by clergy or local preachers. Once a month a member of the clergy leads a service of Holy Communion. We hold Wednesday Group, a women’s meeting, every other week and a house group fortnightly on a Tuesday. Connections, an afternoon of board games, jigsaws, tea, coffee and chat, is held every Thursday from 2pm onwards. All are welcome. Members of the congregation are involved in various charitable activities such as Pancake Day fundraising, card making for the Cobalt appeal and management of the local Day Care Centre. We are active in Churches Together in Winchcombe and host CTW’s Meeting Point drop-in coffee morning every Thursday (see entry for Meeting Point in Section 5a). ADDRESS Winchcombe Methodist Church, 8a High Street, Winchcombe GL54 5LJ

St Peter’s (Anglican) Church Worship & Prayer

Our main Sunday morning service is at 10.30am for Parish Communion. Additionally, we offer a wide range of other services as shown on the Parish website. Significant services and events can also streamed online accessible via our Parish website. The church is open daily for individual prayer ADDRESS Gloucester St, Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5LU TELEPHONE 01242 602067 EMAIL spc@winchcombeparish.org.uk WEB https://www.winchcombeparish.org.uk Holy Mass is celebrated at 11am on Sundays. Refreshments are served after Mass. On Mondays we pray the Holy Rosary for all the intentions of the parish and any other. Thursdays, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is at 9:30am, followed by Holy Mass at 10:00am. For more details of events and activities, phone or email the Administrator, details below. PRIEST Father Tony Pazhayakalam CONTACT Chris Davies, Administrator in the main office at Tewkesbury ADDRESS 14 Chandos St, Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5HX TELEPHONE 01684 293273 / 01242 602412 EMAIL Tewkesbury.stjoseph@cliftondiocese.com WEB http://www.saintnicholaswinchcombe.org.uk

Christ Church Gretton

ADDRESS 9 Church Row, Gretton, Cheltenham GL54 5EZ TELEPHONE 01242 602067 EMAIL spc@winchcombeparish.org.uk WEB https://www.winchcombeparish.org.uk/christchurch-gretton

St Mary’s, Sudeley

Those attending our services can obtain free admittance to the church of St Mary’s by asking at the Castle ticket office.

ADDRESS Sudeley Cottage, High St, Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5LJ TELEPHONE 01242 602067 EMAIL spc@winchcombeparish.org.uk WEB https://www.winchcombeparish.org.uk/st-maryssudeley

St Michael’s, Stanley Pontlarge

ADDRESS Stanley Pontlarge, Cheltenham GL54 5HD TELEPHONE 01242 602067 EMAIL spc@winchcombeparish.org.uk WEB https://www.winchcombeparish.org.uk/stmichaels-stanley-pontlarge

Daily Prayers

A small group meets daily online at 0900 to pray for the community. For more information contact the Church Manager on the number below. TIMES 9 – 9.30am Monday – Saturday TELEPHONE 01242 604552

Christians in and around Winchcombe gather in St Peter’s to pray for Winchcombe and the surrounding areas. If you would like to join this time of quiet meditation and prayer, please contact Anne – details below.

TIMES 7.30pm, third Wednesday of the month (usually) ADDRESS St Peter’s Church, Winchcombe CONTACT Anne Hand TELEPHONE 01242 609575

Spiritual Life Coaching

Life in Harmony

Emma is a spiritual life coach offering bespoke healing treatments using various modalities of Reiki, NLP, Kinesiology, Tapping etc to release trauma, limitations and move towards a life you love. She connects you directly to your higher self to bring about immediate relief and enable you to leave with easy actionable steps to continue your transformation at home. CONTACT Emma Greenslade TIMES 10am – 3pm ADDRESS An address in Winchcombe CONTACT Anne Hand TELEPHONE 07599 258919 EMAIL info@emmagreenslade.com WEB https://emmagreenslade.com/ SOCIAL emma.greenslade

Further afield, in Cheltenham

Akanishta Buddhist Centre

Akanishta Kadampa Meditation Centre welcomes everyone to meditate, if you are just beginning to practice and those who have experience of meditation over many years. Everyone can share the inner peace and happiness that arises from mindfulness of the breath and many other positive objects of our concentration. TELEPHONE 01242 269807 EMAIL info@meditationincheltenham.org.uk WEB https://meditationincheltenham.org.uk The Inter Faith Network exists to promote understanding, cooperation and good relations between organisations and persons of different faiths in the UK. Here, in Cheltenham, we work with people of all faiths and no faith to promote mutual understanding and awareness of different belief systems. We do this through hosting speakers, events and dialogue so that by getting to know one another we recognise that we have far more in common than may appear at first sight. Our activities are based around Monthly Meetings and special events. MEETINGS 7.30pm in the Friends Meeting House (courtesy of Cheltenham Quakers), Warwick Place, off Portland Street, Cheltenham GL52 2NP TELEPHONE 07795 422045 to join CIF EMAIL info@cheltenhaminterfaith.org.uk WEB http://www.cheltenhaminterfaith.org.uk

The Isbourne Centre

The Isbourne is a pioneering hub of wellbeing and spiritual development in the South-West of England, running a variety of inspirational courses, workshops and talks throughout the year from our Cheltenham town centre location. Originally founded in 1995 as a centre of light intended to be open to all, over 20 years later we remain one of the UK’s leading holistic organisations. We are committed to providing people with the tools, resources and encouragement to inspire happier, healthier and more positive lives. ADDRESS 2 Wolseley Terrace, Cheltenham GL50 1TH TELEPHONE 01242 254 321 EMAIL info@isbourne.org WEB https://www.isbourne.org