The largest of the congregations in the Parish, with a friendly, welcoming community and an outward-looking and enthusiastic approach to practising our Christian faith.

Our worship life provides a varied selection of services e.g. the traditional sung Eucharist, with choir and organist on some Sundays; our Open Doors, lay-led family service, supported by a worship band; and we have had Wednesday morning prayer services which provided a quiet, reflective space utilizing contemporary language, music and contemplative silence. We hope our worship meets the eclectic needs of the community in which we live and the changing needs of our world.

Dating from Medieval times, St. Swithun’s Church is an attractive Grade 1 listed church, and, in recent years, a sympathetic, multi-purpose under-gallery space was built, which includes a modern kitchen, toilet and meeting area. This has created an additional versatile space to be used when there are baptisms, weddings and other social gatherings.

Nestled in the small hamlet of Upton Hellions and is an outstanding example of a quintessential English country church. Comprising a small, but dedicated core congregation, the church offers traditional worship at major Christian festivals and other key celebrations in the year i.e. Harvest Festival and a summer Songs of Praise (Hymns and Pimms). All these services are supported enthusiastically by people in the Parish.

Situated a mile and a half from Sandford, set in a beautiful hilltop location. Beacon Church supports a small but lively and enthusiastic congregation who meet once a month, on the first Sunday. As Beacon members come from a range of church traditions, this brings a distinctive quality to our worship and fellowship together. An example of this is our Easter sunrise service at 5.30am, followed by bacon rolls. At Christmas, we sing carols in the courtyard with a life size Nativity scene.

A former Victorian schoolroom, Beacon Church provides a unique worship space and community resource. As part of the programme of ongoing improvements, this year, we plan to re-roof the church and build an extension to include a small kitchen and toilet.