St Michaels Church Castle Frome

Carol Singing

2011-12-18T10:11:00.001Z

Thank you to everyone who supported the carol singing on Friday. We raised over £200 for the Acorns Children's Hospice

Nativity scene at church

2011-12-11T21:24:00.001Z

Harvest Festival Scarecrow Choir

2011-10-16T10:06:00.002+01:00

Harvest celebrations in the church

Harvest continues

2011-09-10T04:14:00.000+01:00

Safely gathered in

2011-08-26T07:30:00.000+01:00

The wheat is being harvested around Castle Frome, lucky to have a harvest.

Bird walk 2011

2011-05-22T07:02:00.000+01:00

View on our annual bird walk from the top of Fromes Hill. Just beautiful.

Cowslips are out

2011-04-09T16:51:00.000+01:00

Spring is coming

2011-03-31T14:26:00.000+01:00

Spring flowers

2011-02-17T21:42:00.000Z

Spring is coming to Castle Frome

Fire extinguisher training

2010-10-24T20:26:00.000+01:00

Fun was had by all at the fire extinguisher training. Here is Jane, the vicar in action

Harvest flowers

2010-10-24T20:20:00.000+01:00

The harvest flowers in the church are just are beautiful!

Harvest safely gathered in for another year!

2010-10-12T06:26:00.000+01:00

We had a full house for our harvest service and supper on friday night! Delicious - thank you to everyone who contributed food, wine and of course their company.

As seen on the BBC

2010-09-18T19:46:00.000+01:00

The church has been featured in the BBC 4 television series "Churches: How to read them". Thank you to all the visitors who have come to the church to see the font.

History Walk

2010-09-11T19:37:00.000+01:00

Thank you to everyone who has been on our history walks this summer. We have raised £200 for church funds and found out more about our medieval past.

Sunrise and sunset on mid-summer's day

2010-06-25T16:51:00.000+01:00

Sunrise

The sunrise and sunset on mid-summer's day in Castle Frome was breathtaking

Sunset

Castle Frome in flower

2010-05-25T16:48:00.000+01:00

The fields and woodland surrounding the church have been full of spring flowers. We thought you would like to see them.

Agape meal

2010-04-02T22:22:00.000+01:00

This was the setting for our Agape meal on Maundy Thursday. Thank you to all who attended and made the evening so special.

Agape meal

2010-03-21T10:01:00.000Z

We are having an Agape Meal on Maundy Thursday 1st April 2010 at 6 pm. This will be a service to celebrate our Community and the many, many ways in which we support each other. The service will take place around a bring and share meal. Please bring a small plate each of sweet and savoury food to share.

Lent lunch

2010-03-14T09:58:00.000Z

Thank you to everyone who helped to organise and supported the Lent lunch. £260 was raised as a result and this will be donated to the Haiti appeal through the Mission Aviation Fellowship. Check out the charity and the work that they have been undertaking to meet the needs of Haitians.

Carol singing

2010-01-23T03:06:00.002Z

Our carol singing around the parish raised an incredible £180 for The Acorns Children's Hospice in Worcester. Thank you to everyone who sang and who opened their homes to us.

Open Garden Evening

2009-07-12T07:37:00.002+01:00

We had an excellent open garden evening last Thursday - beautiful garden, good friends and tea, coffee, delicious cake and we raised some money for church funds too. Thank you to everyone who helped.

Inter-church rounders

2009-06-24T12:42:00.002+01:00

Following our own rounders competition we entered the inter-parish competition and were thrilled because we won! There was some great sporting prowess shown amongst the teams and some sportsmanship too - about 200 people were at the event.

Parish rounders evening

2009-06-14T12:40:00.000+01:00

We had a wonderful evening last Saturday playing rounders followed by a BBQ. In true Castle Frome style the youngest was a babe in arms and the oldest player soon to be in their eighties - a truly wonderful community event.

Bird walk

2009-05-18T12:25:00.002+01:00

We had a great bird walk to raise money for the church at The Hill Farm. Thank you to ian and Hilary for organising and leading the walk. We started at 6.30 am and during the two hours we hear/saw 32 different species of birds. We had a lovely breakfast and thank you to the twenty-five people who attended. We raised £80 for church funds.

Agape feast

2009-04-12T05:49:00.001+01:00

We had an excellent agape feast with around twenty-five people attending - a real community event to start Easter.

Bird walk and talk

2009-04-03T17:15:00.001+01:00

We are holding a “Bird Walk and Talk” at Hill Farm, Castle Frome on Saturday 16th May 2009. Meet at 6.15 am for a 6.30 start. The guided farm walk will take around 60 - 90 minutes and involve some uphill stretches. Please bring suitable footwear and clothing for the weather. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Tickets: Adults £5.00 and Children £2.50 to include Breakfast rolls and tea or coffee. Further details: contact Louise Manning on 01531 640821. Proceeds in aid of St Michael and All Angels Church, Castle Frome

Agape feast

2009-03-01T17:12:00.001Z

You are invited to an Agape Supper Service on Maundy Thursday – 9th April 2009 at St Michaels Church, Castle Frome 6 pm. This will be a service to celebrate our Community and the many, many ways in which we support each other. The service will take place around a bring and share meal. Please bring a small plate each of sweet and savoury food to share. The Agape is a fellowship meal, a very ancient tradition of the Church, a time of togetherness and mutual sharing which reminds us of those meals Jesus shared with his friends and of the unity in which we come together as a Community. For more details contact Louise Manning 01531 640821

Snow in Castle Frome

2009-02-10T06:46:00.003Z

We have had our deepest snow in Castle Frome for about twenty years! Truly beautiful when you don't have to travel too far!

Carol Singing

2009-01-02T06:32:00.002Z

We had a very successful carol singing evening around the parish on 19th December raising over £150 for the Acorns Children's Hospice. Thank you to all those who gave so generously towards the hospice and also with their singing voices!

Kneeler project 2009

2008-12-22T23:00:00.001Z

We would like to complete the furnishings of our beautiful parish church by producing a set of kneelers. We have started the quest for volunteers who are happy to make use of their talents to produce the kneelers, but if there is anyone else who has the time to help, or has information on where we can source materials locally please let us know and we would be thrilled if you would join our group.

We are not only asking for people who are happy to donate their time, but also in need of financial support for our project. If you are able to make a contribution towards the costs of materials; especially as a memorial to a loved one, family member or friend, it would really help our project get off to a roaring start. We will hold a candlelit dedication service when the kneelers are complete and in place to formally remember yourselves and/or your loved ones. The finished kneelers will carry a permanent label recording the name of the donor (and/or to whom it was dedicated). We will also keep you up to date with our progress. If you would like to find out more contact Louise Manning on 01531 640821 or by email at l.mannning@btinternet.com

Rosemary for remembrance

2008-12-13T07:36:00.007Z

I thought that I would post some photos of the beautiful flowers that were placed in the church for remembrance. Thank you to everyone who takes so much time to make the church look so cared for and beautiful.

Advent Service

2008-12-03T18:33:00.003Z

We had a full church, about 120 people for our Advent Service with the children from Bosbury School. Once again the church was filled with the sound of music from the choir and the african drums. A great start to Advent. Over one hundred and fifty jam and lemon curd tarts were eaten by the performers!

Our next service is a candlelit carol service on the 14th December.

Festival of Talents

2008-11-20T18:30:00.000Z

We had a great evening on the 15th November with a festival of talents in the parish with a choir covering three generations, solo singing pieces, performance poetry, humourous pieces, an organ recital and many many more. We followed this with a shared supper of goodies - great fun

Autumn days

2008-10-19T03:57:00.002+01:00

Well Autumn is here and the churchyard looks magnificent as the leaves start to change. The flowers in the church for Harvest are just beautiful too.

Who was St Michael?

2008-09-26T18:34:00.003+01:00

The church bears the name of St Michael so who was he?

Michael is an archangel who appears in the Book of Revelation 12:7. and in the Book of Daniel. Michael is one of the principal angels in Abrahamic tradition; his name was said to have been the war-cry of the angels in the battle fought in heaven against Satan and his followers.

In the Roman Calendar of the Saints, his feast day, once widely known as Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29. It is the third of the English quarter days and usually when university terms began.

Michael together with St George became the patron of chivalry. In the poem Paradise Lost by John Milton he is said to have commanded the army of angels loyal to God against the rebel forces of Evil. Michael armed with a sword from God's armory, takes on Satan in personal combat, wounding his side.

Herefordshire Life

2008-08-22T22:31:00.001+01:00

We were thrilled that our church was featured in the August issue of "Herefordshire Life" in the article on the Frome Valley - some fantastic photographs and a great insight into the area.

Baptism prayers

2008-08-10T20:17:00.001+01:00

We had a christening today at our church and I thought I would re-print the prayers that we said for them.

Lord, as we gather together in this church today, we ask your blessing on S and M newly baptised into your family. Hold them in your arms and bless them. Shine your light on the path before them and let them always feel your loving presence as they travel along the paths of life.

Lord, we ask your blessing on the parents, grandparents, godparents and sponsors of S and M. May they guide them with their own example of your love and always be ready to listen and to comfort, to laugh and to play, to encourage and to praise. May they always show S and M that they are special in their eyes and in also in yours.

Lord, bless all the families that are in your care. Make your loving presence felt amongst them all especially those for whom family life is difficult and testing. Be with those who have no family to care for them. Comfort those whose children cause them worry or heartache. Strengthen those whose children are in danger. Be with those who long for the presence of children and have yet to hold them in their arms. Pour your blessing on them all and bring them all the joys and comforts that family life can hold.

Lord as we welcome S and M into the family of Christ, let us be mindful of the baptism vows once made for us. Let us reaffirm those vows here today and help us all to be faithful witnesses to your light and love. Let us be shining examples to S and M and support them as they begin their journey with you.

Rounders evening

2008-07-21T06:03:00.002+01:00

We had a wonderful evening last Friday playing rounders. The youngest was a babe in arms and the oldest player in their seventies - a truly wonderful community event.

Open Farm Sunday

2008-06-01T16:49:00.003+01:00

We had a farm walk today and raised about £100 in funds for the church as a result. Thank you to everyone who gave a donation for the refreshments. Find out more by checking out the link.

Baptism weekend

2008-05-26T16:44:00.004+01:00

Here are some great photos from the baptism weekend held in May. We raised £400 for church funds too.

Fame on the blogosphere

2008-04-19T11:41:00.003+01:00

We were thrilled that our font featured in a blog post by English Buildings. It really is beautiful (even if I am a little biased, and it was saved from the Cromwellian soldiers when they passed by) and well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Car boot sale

2008-04-15T19:53:00.002+01:00

We joined in the Bishops Frome car boot sale to raise money for church funds. We had two stalls and the cake stall and bric-a-brac stall had some brisk trade. We are busy preparing for our baptism weekend - lots of fun ahead!

Baptism Exhibition: Call for help

2008-03-29T10:53:00.003Z

We are holding an exhibition in St Michael and All Angels Church, Castle Frome on Saturday 3^rd and Sunday 4^th May 2008. We are interested in any information that you may have on the western pioneers that left Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire between 1840 and 1880 bound for America.

Are you related to any of the pioneers who left?

Do you have information about their lives and experiences?

How were their lives different to those of the relatives that they left behind?

We would like to feature their stories as part of our exhibition. If you have any information or would like to find out more about this forthcoming event, please contact Louise Manning on 01531 640820 or by e.mail at l.manning@btinternet.com.

Blessing of the votive candle stand

2008-01-31T22:25:00.001Z

At our last Communion service we dedicated the votive candle stand that was kindly donated to the church. It was a special service with each of the congregation silently lighting a candle in memory of a loved one during the prayers.

Christmas Decorations 2007

2008-01-04T09:57:00.001Z

We sold a whole range of Christmas Decorations in aid of the Church - here are some examples

Carol singing for the Acorns Children's Hospice

2007-12-17T20:56:00.000Z

We went carol singing on Saturday night and raised £127 for the Acorns Children's Hospice. Thank you to everyone who donated to such an important charity and everyone to sang.

Nativity in words and music

2007-12-12T12:33:00.000Z

We has a fabulous nativity service last Sunday with the children reading letters from the key characters in the story. Members of the congregation played musical instruments and percussion and formed a choir to sing specially arranged traditional and calypso carols. We finished off the service with mulled wine, soft drinks and homemade mince pies and cakes. A wonderful evening service and a product of so much hard work.

Advent

2007-12-04T06:37:00.000Z

Our thanks go to Bosbury School choir and drummers who joined us for our Advent Service on Sunday. The church was filled with music and song and everyone who attended said how much they enjoyed the celebration.

We have also been very busy in Castle Frome making Christmas decorations, cards and gifts to sell in aid of church funds over the next couple of weeks. Thank you to everyone who has helped.

Harvest thanksgiving

2007-10-15T14:08:00.000+01:00

We have just enjoyed our harvest services and joined together to sing the traditional harvest hymns of thanksgiving including this one:

We plough the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God's almighty hand:
He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine,
And soft, refreshing rain.

The Final Course

2007-09-29T18:32:00.000+01:00

We had a great evening on the 28th September enjoying a range of sweets and cheeses to raise money for Church Funds. The apple pie, crumbles, tiramisu, Mississippi mud pie, pavlova to name but a few were delicious. Our thanks go to Mike, Megan, Alan and Nikki for hosting the very successful, fun evening.

Busy, busy

2007-09-29T18:25:00.000+01:00

We have had a busy few weeks at the church. We had a party of 80 members of the Church of Latter Day Saints visit the church to see the historical heritage. Many were descended from the missionary Wilford Woodruff who came to this part of Herefordshire in March 1840 and converted a number of the local people to the LDS faith.

We also had a visit from 40 members of the Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust who came to look around the church and we gave a talk about the points of interest.

Quiz night

2007-09-15T12:06:00.000+01:00

We held a very successful and enjoyable quiz last night. There was some serious, but friendly competition between the teams and an excellent supper provided by Pat and Eddie. Thank you to them for all that they did towards the success of the evening, and thanks too to Yvonne for organising the evening and the range of questions that taxed us all.

HHCT cycle ride

2007-09-09T16:51:00.000+01:00

Every year we have a sponsored cycle ride or walk in Herefordshire in aid of the Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust. Yesterday, we had a rota to man the church so that we could provide refreshments to the cyclists and walkers. We had about twenty people turn up at our church during the day and in the sunshine it was a beautiful day to enjoy the countryside and the beauty of our rural churches. The HHCT provide financial grants towards building work that is constantly needed to maintain the county churches.

The Ride and Stride event has raised more than £100,000 in the last five years.

Medieval Times

2007-09-01T20:32:00.000+01:00

The farm surrounding the Church is known as Town Farm. In medieval times there was a village by the church but this was probably lost at the time of the Black Death in 1349 as were a number of villages in Britain. This was also a time of extreme famine in England.

If you walk to the back of the churchyard you will see the green lane, which would probably have run from the village and church up to the castle on the hill. There are very few records from the time to establish the numbers that died. The Register of John Trillek, Bishop of Hereford records that in the four Episcopal manors of Bosbury, Colwall, Coddington and Cradley as many as 158 tenants died of the plague.

Castle Frome History

2007-08-25T20:28:00.000+01:00

Castle Frome is referred to in old maps as Frome of the Castle or Frome of the King, indeed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as land having belonged to King Harold before the Norman Conquest. Castle Frome is about two miles from both Bishop’s Frome and Canon Frome which received its name from the Canons of Llanthony Abbey who administered it, before the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.

The river Frome is reputed as having derived its name from Roman times and the Latin FORMOSUS which means beautiful. Camp Coppice on the high ground to the east of the church is believed to be the site of a Roman Camp and hellebore still grows there which was always to be found by roman sites because they used it as a purgative. The Castle was also built here.

Herefordshire was in 1060’s the scene of welsh raids which reached as far as Leominster until the leader Gruffydd ap Llewellyn was slain by Harold Godwinson (King Harold) and his half-brother Tostig.

Castle Frome is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Brismerfrum.
“Brictmer held it from Earl Harold. 5 hides which pay tax. In lordship 3 ploughs; 7 villages a reeve and 1 free man with 7 ploughs. 10 slaves, a mill at 10. Value before 1066 70s; now 60s (s=shillings)

Churchyard in bloom!

2007-08-15T08:15:00.000+01:00

Our churchyard looks beautiful at the moment and we have had a lot of visitors coming to see the font and other points of interest inside the church and also to enjoy the chirchyard and the peace and tranquility.

Christmas Decorations

2007-08-10T01:13:00.000+01:00

Although it is only August, we have started to make our Christmas Decorations that we will sell in aid of the Church this year. We are using recycled cards and old christmas decorations and having fun too!

Rounders

2007-07-20T16:03:00.000+01:00

Luckily, the day before St Swithins day was clear and fine and we all enjoyed our annual Rounders Competition. The torrential rain the day before disappeared and Castle Fromeians of all ages were in the teams for the highly competitive match.

This was followed with a BBQ and a swim for the youngsters - an enjoyable evening.

Sadly we had torrential rain on St Swithins (15th July) so another 40 days ahead!

Bat Walk

2007-07-11T21:23:00.000+01:00

We had a very successful bat walk last Friday night with twenty-five people standing in the twilight waiting for the bats to leave their roost and we were not disappointed. The bat monitoring machines identified the different kinds of bats and we also had a fantastic talk from Ian and Johnnie which made us understand these tiny mammals just a little more!

Romaneque Font

2007-07-01T12:02:00.000+01:00

The font is the work of the Herefordshire School and dates from around 1170. It rests on four human figures, sadly only one head now remains. There is interlaced work is at the top of the font and the lower part is an entwined snake, said to be symbolic of the Devil. The centre part of the font describes the Baptism of Jesus and the Trinity; with John the Baptist and then Jesus, the Son, in the waters of Jordan with four fish; the Holy Ghost depicted as a dove descending; and God, the Father represented by a right hand giving blessing. Around the bowl are the emblems of the four gospel writers Matthew, (a winged bull) Mark (a lion), Luke ( a winged man holding a book) and John (an eagle).

We get visitors from all around the world who come to see, photograph, or draw the font. If you are passing please visit the church as the photo doesn't really do the font justice.

Castle Frome Church is blogging!

2007-06-29T13:32:00.000+01:00

We have decided to set up a blog about our church in Castle Frome, Herefordshire. We are planning to keep this blog up to date with current events, fund-raising news and information on what we are going as a community. We welcome your comments on this blog.