Rector's Blog

  Dear All, We live in an age when pilgrimage is back in fashion.  The Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St James, had as one of its main ancient departure points in this country a parish church where I served for a while as a minister: St James,...

As a fairly recent arrival to the area I with my wife Kath and our dog have to agree that Fishponds ‘really is quite nice!’ I was intrigued to read of the origin of the name ‘Fishponds’ and further interested to learn that the only remaining old quarry, filled with...

Dear All, What importance should we attach to a chance encounter with one of the great men or women of history? Unlocking my bicycle from railings by Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge one afternoon in 1980, there I saw coming out of the vestry door, Rev Dr Billy Graham...

Dear All, Kath and I have now celebrated Christmas at Frenchay and Stapleton 3 times and each time has been 100% wonderful. Thank you to all who made it to one of the services in a local church, including Headway, Macmillan and Brace supporters and staff who led Carol...

Dear All, I wonder how you view the New Year.  Might it be with some hesitancy?  Where will Brexit negotiations have arrived at by the end of March?  Will the numbers of homeless nationally continue to rise?  Will we be ready for all the wonderful events due to happen...

Dear All, I rejoice to learn that most cultures round the world, whether Christian in background or not, like to celebrate Christmas. But why should that be? Is it purely the excitement of children receiving presents, the Christmas tree and the joining together at the...

Dear All, NOVEMBER – a month which, at Frenchay Church, includes a Confirmation Service and an act of Remembrance. I don’t mean to forget other events that are taking place, but these 2 services have something in common - SACRIFICE. Sacrifice is not a popular word in...

Dear All, It is easy to move on from news items a month old.  But I would like us to stay with hurricane Irma, breaking upon Barbuda and parts of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti in early September.  Besides, the...

Recently I had the opportunity to make some apple and blackberry pies.  The tree outside was shedding apples, the bushes were producing berries galore.  I had the old-fashioned cookery book open in the kitchen, and duly followed its advice to refrigerate the dough...

Dear All, During the week of writing this blog, the same week in which the Grenfell Tower block in West London went up in flames, a member of the parish showed me this prayer they had picked up when visiting the bishop’s palace at Wells : Gracious God, We pray for...