Is anyone reading the blog????

Just wondered if anyone is reading the blog and whether people find it useful. Would be good if you could leave a comment and tell me if you are reading it and if you're a FACT person or someone who has picked it up on the WWW
Just a thought !!!

St Mary Magdelan's Anglican Church, Great Elm

The church at Great Elm originates from the 12th Century with some later additions. It has an unusual tower with a sloping roof which matches those of the nave and chancel. There is an Elizabeathan gallery and some box pews of Jacobean origin. The stained glass is also worth noting in this church. Next to the rather hight pulpit is a little depicted story from Acts "The raising of Tabitha". Those of you who know me will know why that caught my attention !

©Exterior Photograph Copyright Phil Williams and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Frome Spectacular and FACT

For many years, FACT has led the carol singing at the Spectacular Shopping Evening. Starting last year this moved from the last Friday night in November to the last Sunday afternoon. I know that this caused people some concern when it was first announced, for there is always going to be the dillema of whether we as Churches should be being involved with Sunday trading. I've got to say though, that actually this is another time when we have got to say "if they are not in church, we've got to go to where they are " Last year at this time we were preparing for the Advent Light Relay and decided to launch it at the Spectacular with a procession to the carols. It worked wonderfully and the sight of 250 Christians marching with the Light of Christ down our town main street and across the bridge into the Market Yard, really did make and impact.

We have been asked to repeat this act this year. Here are the arrangements -

5pm Service of Light at St John's

5.15pm Move off in procession ( Advent Light at head ) Carol singing down footpaths to Westway precinct and then acroos bridge to Market Yard

5.30pm Muster in front of the main stage to sing with the Town Youth Band

PLEASE PLEASE join us, the more people who do, the bigger the impression and the more clearly the message of Christmas is got across. Lets try for 300 this year and a procession which stretches from the Wheatsheaf to WHSmiths.

If you are coming please carry a lantern, glowstick or light so that it is a real procession of light.

Exec Papers emailed

For the first time this month, all exec papers have been sent by email ( by that I mean that we now have an email address for every exec member or at least a way of getting papers to them by email e.g via someone else )

Please check that you have received them ( there should be 1 x 20 page report which includes all the reports you need to read beforehand and the previous minutes, 1x agenda for the meeting on 23rd and 2 x reports from me whose formatting wouldn't allow them to be included in the main report )

Anything missing or anyone not receiving them please let me know.

Please pray for your Exec team as they read and consider the items they need to discuss.

St Katharine's Anglican, East Woodlands

St Katherine's is a separate parish, although it shares a vicar with St John's Frome. It's church was orignially built in 1714 ( by Lord Bath of the nearby Longleat estate, as many of his workers were villlagers ) and was conscreated nearly a hundred years later in 1811. In 1872 it became a separate parish, rather than a chapel of ease for St John's Frome. It was about this time that it underwent restoration under architect John Loughborough Pearson, who also designed Truro Cathedral. Despite its rural location, the church's links with St John's means that it has a closer link with the town of Frome

The church's tile pavement includes an enlarged version of the Bishop Ken monogram tile usually found as a single four-inch or six-inch tile, but here designed for multiple tile settings.

The church has some fine stained glass and metalwork, aswell as choir stalls and an organ in their traditional place in the Chancel.

Photos © Copyright Trish Steel and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

Bible Reading Marathon Update

About £1700 has come in so far for the Archbishop's Fund for Zimbabwe. With Gift Aid that should top the £2000 which is double what we set out to raise !!!!

Well done everyone. Any outstanding monies to Geoff Jackson as soon as possible please.

USPG are most grateful and have said they are going to include some pictures in their next magazine.

By the way another local Churches Together group has been inspired to take up the challenge and are going to have a go next year. A rep from them came to see me to discuss it earlier in the month.

Apologies for the interruption!

It's been two weeks since I got chance to blog. Work has been coming thick and fast ( thankfully ! ) and any spare time has been put into getting the paperwork sorted for the next FACT Exec on 23rd. As well as sorting carol singing, Lent courses and of course doing stuff at St Catharine's such as starting the process of organising our First Holy Communion programme. Hopefully I can use some time today to get some more posts ready for regular updates, but keep checking daily to see what is going on in our town and surrounding area.