Earl Soham Churches
The village is blessed with two churches: St. Mary's C of E, and the Baptist Church.
St. Mary's, Church of England
The church of St. Mary's, Earl Soham, seeks to serve the whole of the community, providing a regular but varied patter of services, reflecting the need for traditional and contemporary styles of worship and serving people of all ages.
The parish is part of a benefice along with Ashfield-cum-Thorpe and Cretingham, and is served by a half time parish priest resident in Earl Soham - the Recd. Clare Sanders.
As a benefice we come together for worship on the 1st and 5th Sundays of the month, alternating between each of the churches.
On the second Sunday, the worship in St. Mary's is from the Book of Common Prayer, with an 8:00am celebration of Holy Communion and at 10:00am a service of Mattins led by the churchwarden or other lay minister.
At 11:00am on the 3rd Sunday, the service of Holy Communion is from the Book of Common Worship.
On the 4th Sunday in the month, the worship is both traditional and contemporary, with an 8:00am celebration of Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer and at 9:30am a Children's Church, where people of all ages are welcomed but the emphasis is on children and young people. The service reflects their needs with modern songs, activities, games and quizzes, all encouraging active participation and learning.
On the oocasions in the year when ther eis 5th Sunday, an 8:00am celebration also takes place at St. Mary's.
During the year, there is an Animal Service held outside, where animals and birds of all sizes, shapes and varities are made welcome; an outdoor crib service on Christmas Eve, when animals again play an active part; a traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols; a Good Friday procession of witness; and in partnership with our benefice churches, a Christingle service and Advent Service for children take place, and Lent Study Groups for Adults. Joint services are held with the Baptist Chapel at intervals during the year and we always come together on Remembrance Sunday for a joint service at the parish church, with a parallel service at the Chapel for children and young people.
There is a branch of the Mother's Union which meets on a monthly basis and a Youth Group for youngsters from Year 6 upwards meets in the Village Hall on Thursday evenings, with the exception of the 4th Thursday in the month. Each month they have an outing to a local centre for leisure - swimming, bowling, skating - and at Christmas they have a Christmas meal at a place of their chosing.
Other annual events include the Fête held on the village green on the first Saturday in August, a Harvest Supper & Festival on the 2nd Sunday in October and Stalls on the Green on the Saturdays preceding Bank Holidays.
A monthly magazine is produced by the church and is distributed to every house in the benefice. It seeks to be a means of communication for everyone across the benefice and its articles are not restricted to church events and people, but enables all bodies, clubs and individuals to share what is going on. Similarly the church co-ordinates an Events Diary across the three parishes.
Contacts:
| Parish Priest | Revd Clare Sanders | 01728 685778 |
| Resident Lay Reader | Simon Nicholls | 01728 685692 |
| Churchwarden & Treasurer | Dr. John Elmore | 01728 685814 |
| PCC Secretary | Ann Snell | 01728 685683 |
| Magazine Editor | Alison Bowman | 01728 685489 |
Website:
Pages for the benfice (Earl Soham, Ashfield and Cretingham).
Information on the history of St. Mary's can be found in the History section of this Website.
Baptist Church
For 25 years until March 2003 the minister was Rev. J. Peck, BD, author of several books, whose ministry as a conference speaker extends from Europe to the United States. The oversight of the church is in the hands of a small team of elders.
Contacts:
| Minister | Vacant | |
| Secretary | Mrs. Sue Hutt | 01728 860173 |
Website: