Church Services First Sunday of the month, 11.15am
BCP Communion
Third Sunday of the month, 4pm
BCP Evensong

 
 
Church Information:
In the ancient West Devonshire village of Germansweek St German’s is a Norman church founded on an earlier settlement. It was dedicated in honour of St. German (or Germanus), a 5th century missionary and Bishop of Auxerre, who visited the South West of England in 429 and 443 and established numerous churches in the region. The small church, sheltering in a hollow on the southern edge of Germansweek, has undergone numerous changes over the centuries, and was extensively modernised and restored in 1875.

Today St German’s is a member of the Northmoor Team of Churches in the Okehampton area on the north-west edge of Dartmoor. There is a Sunday service every fortnight at St German’s, to which visitors are welcome. The bells are rung regularly, and the church is a beautiful venue for baptisms, weddings and other special services. The Team clergy welcome enquiries about baptisms and weddings – see links for more details. Do come to Germansweek and visit St German’s – a place of peace where prayer can come easily and healing may be found.
Germansweek takes its name from St Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, who came to these shores in AD 429. Did St Germanus visit our village? No detailed records survive, we think it was possible, which would make Germansweek one of the earliest a Christian sites in this part of the world. The oldest parts of the present church were built not long after the Norman Conquest with additions dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. There is Tudor stained glass in the North aisle showing the arms of Frithelstock Priory plus the Kelly and Rolle families.

Our name has undergone variations over the years – 1086 Wica, 1242 Wyk, 1458 Wyke Germyn. At other times it has been Wyke Langford and Week St German.

The village grew until the mid eighteen hundreds, when the population reached 450. Today we are Just over 100, which makes survival of the church exceedingly difficult The loss of our farming community has been devastating and we have to find new ways to restore the social awareness

Many visitors to the church say we have a unique and special sensitivity about the building and grounds -perhaps the Lord is showing us a new holistic healing ministry as a way forward. Early in the new year we have plans to hold a few ‘Healing and Wholeness’ services at Germansweek. Watch for more on this.

Alan Smithers


Germansweek Church website
Safeguarding Policy for Germansweek PCC
The following policy statement was agreed at the PCC meeting held on 10.07.2017

‘As members of the PCC we commit our church community to the support, nurture, protection and safeguarding of all, especially the young and vulnerable. We recognise that our work with children, young people and vulnerable adults is the responsibility of the whole church community. We are fully committed to acting within current legislation, guidance, national frameworks and the Diocesan Safeguarding procedures. We will also act in an open, transparent and accountable way in working in partnership with the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, Children and Adult Social Care Services, the Police, Probation Services and other agencies to safeguard children and vulnerable adults. We welcome staff and volunteers who are recruited in accordance with House of Bishops’ Interim Guidelines on Safer Recruitment 2013. This means we will ensure that those who are employed or who volunteer to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults are suitable for the role, that they know what the role entails and that they are supported in carrying it out.’

The PCC offers a range of activities and services for the community. viz.
Sunday Worship,
Festival Services including a Christingle service,
Fundraising Activities e.g. Lent lunches
This, therefore, means there are a range of individuals engaging in these opportunities. The PCC must ensure that all involved are vigilant that vulnerable persons are looked after and concerns reported in the appropriate manner.

• In accordance with the latest legal requirements and national church guidance we undertake to exercise proper care in the selection, appointment, training and support of those working in both paid and voluntary positions with children or vulnerable adults, including the use of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) disclosures and making appropriate referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service.


• All staff and volunteers who work with vulnerable people have the opportunity to take up the provision of Diocese safeguarding training.

• As part of the PCC local safeguarding training we have discussed and practiced responding in an appropriate and timely way. This has involved some scenario planning for situations when, for example,
– a child/vulnerable adult may disclose something that has upset or harmed them
– someone else might report something that a child/vulnerable adult has told them, or that they believe that a child/vulnerable adult has been or is being harmed
– a child/vulnerable adult might show signs of physical injury for which there appears to be no explanation
– a child/vulnerable adult behaviour may suggest he or she is being abused
– the behaviour or attitude of someone towards a child/vulnerable adult may cause concern
– a child demonstrates worrying behaviour towards other children.

• If you have a Safeguarding concern surrounding a person involved with Germansweek Parish Church please contact the Parish Safeguarding Officer:
• Mary Barkell 01822 820272; The Devon Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 0345 155 1071 or the NSPCC. Contact them via the website, https://www.nspcc.org.uk/ , via email: help@nspcc.org.uk Or phone 0808 800 5000. If you think an individual is in immediate risk of hard please contact the Police on 999.

• If there is a concern the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser will be contacted in a timely manner. We will also contact other organisations, these include but are not limited to:
– the parish’s insurer
– Disclosure and Barring Service
– Charity Commissioners

• The PCC is committed to co-operate fully with the Diocese and appropriate statutory agencies during any investigation into abuse, including when allegations are made against a member of the church community

• We will seek to offer pastoral care and support, including supervision and referral to the proper authorities, to any member of our church community known to have offended against a child, young person or vulnerable adult.

Identification of the people within the PCC and the parish who hold formal responsibilities for safeguarding (such as safeguarding representatives, people who are advertised as being safe to report a concern to, etc), with a summary of their responsibilities.
Vicar
Churchwarden
PCC Safeguarding representative
Tower Captain


This policy was reviewed in October 2018. Next review October 2019.