THE new vicar at Holy Trinity is, almost certainly, the first vicar in the country to swear allegiance to His Majesty, King Charles III.
The church reports, “The Reverend Ian Snares was formally licensed at Holy Trinity Church by the Bishop of Taunton, The Rt Reverend Ruth Worsley, on Thursday 8th September. The service commenced at 7pm but minutes before the start, Bishop Ruth received a call to inform her the Queen had died. During the service, every vicar has to swear allegiance to the monarch, who is Head of the Church of England. The wording had to be changed in order for the Oath of Allegiance to be valid. At the start of the service, the bishop led the church in prayers for the Queen, the Royal Family and the nation.
“Despite the very sad news, the licensing service was a great celebration!
“Readings were led by Bob Ashford (Fair Frome) and Amanda Seager (head, Trinity First School) and bishop Ruth spoke about building bridges from church to community.
“Ian has moved to Frome from St Wilfrid’s, Cowplain, in the Portsmouth diocese. He is married to Jo, a maths teacher in Wells and has two children, Jonathan and Annabelle, attending Frome College and Oakfield Academy respectively.
“Prior to ordination, Ian worked at the Ford Motor Company as a development engineer and engineering manager. He is interested in cars, photography, music, technology and enjoys a nice pint but is passionate about Christian churches bringing God’s love and hope to their communities in ways that bring about lasting change.”
Ian said, “I am so looking forward to getting to know Frome and the people who live here. It’s such a buzzy, quirky place, which suits me down to the ground! I can’t wait to get started.”
For more details about Holy Trinity, please visit the website: https://holytrinityfrome.com
