THE Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, is visiting Taunton, Minehead, Langport, Chard and Exmoor next month.

He is touring the Bath and Wells diocese from Monday to Wednesday, November 7 to 9.

His itinerary will see him travel across the diocese, meeting and praying with individuals and groups from within the church and the wider community, including voluntary organisations and educators.

Commenting on the planned visit, the Rt Rev Peter Hancock, Bishop of Bath and Wells, said: “The Archbishop’s visit is a wonderful opportunity to shine a light on some of the inspiring projects our Church community is undertaking, from the new @StMary’s Centre for the community in Chard to the more ambitious Bath Abbey’s Footprint project.

Somerset County Gazette:

The Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Rt Rev Peter Hancock.

"But it is also an opportunity to highlight and discuss some of the challenges faced by many in our diocese.

"We are blessed with a beautiful county, but rural isolation, an ageing population and poverty are just as present here as in other areas of the country and we can all play a part in addressing that.

“I am also pleased that we have the opportunity to discuss the role of the church in education.

"Many will know of and value our role in education through church schools, but they may not be aware that we have school pastors and chaplains in community schools and universities in Somerset that provide vital support to our young people.”

Archbishop Justin’s visit will start in Taunton on the Monday with a meeting with school leaders followed by a visit to West Somerset College, Minehead.

From there he will head to Exmoor to visit rural parishes and the farming community.

Tuesday will see him visit a number of community projects, including @StMary’s Centre, Chard, and the Angel at Langport, before he heads to Glastonbury Tor to take a reflective walk with local clergy, parishioners and people from other faith and spirituality groups.

In the afternoon he will address a gathering of several hundred people in ministry in Wells Cathedral, before heading to Frome to meet and pray with diocesan representatives for EcoChurch in Frome.

He will then move on to the Cheese and Grain to talk of his hopes for the future before taking questions from the audience.

Much of Wednesday will be spent in Bath, where the Archbishop will first meet students from both of the city’s universities at Bath Spa Students’ Union and respond to the question, 'Faith: Good, bad or indifferent?'

From the university he will move on to call at Rose Cottage Hub, a church community centre, and then to Bath’s Guildhall to address the Bath Christian Action Network annual conference.

The next stop will be Bath Abbey where he will find out more about the Footprint project, followed by a visit to Genesis Lifeline where he will meet volunteers and users of the project.

His visit will conclude with a farewell service at the Abbey.