Vicar retires after 21 years of service to Frome

THE vicar at St John’s Church, Reverend Colin Alsbury, is leaving Frome at the end of this month following over 21 years of dedicated service to the local community.

Rev Alsbury initially moved to Frome from Kettering when he was appointed vicar of Frome Selwood and Woodlands in 2002, and following an impressive 43 years of service across the country in total, he is now retiring and moving to New Brighton in Merseyside.
He says that he was drawn to the post in Frome partly due to the “major restoration work” needed at St John’s Church.

“The parish profile for Frome St John the Baptist had been extremely honest about the major restoration work needed at the time and that honesty played a significant part in attracting me to apply for the post,” he explained.

“With our children now grown up and independent and as I have completed 43 and a half years of ordained ministry and passed state pension age, the time has come to retire and let others take over the reins of responsibility and care for the people and premises of the parish.

“The past 21 years have seen many changes and challenges and a variety of churchwardens, church and community members and others have been helpful and supportive through the ups and downs of those years. The constant presence of an excellent parish treasurer and the support in worship and pastoral care of a most capable reader have been of immense value throughout.

“For most of my time in Frome I have also had oversight of the straggling hamlets that comprise the rural parish at Woodlands – a complete contrast to St John’s that I half-jokingly called my ‘modern’ church being only 300ish years old – a full millennium younger than St John’s!

“It has been good as a charity trustee to play a part in enabling the community at Woodlands to have full ownership of their village hall which is a delightful venue. With reorganisation in the Deanery, I was able to let go my role at Woodlands in the past year as they join a rural group of parishes for the future.”
He says that in his time he has helped breathe new life into the church hall, now called the Bennett Centre, as well as providing a base for the Focus Counselling service in the renovated church cottage and drawing a diverse variety of newer members into the fellowship of St John’s.

Welcoming space

One of the highlights in his time included installing a stone slab inside the entrance of St John’s inscribed with words from a prayer by the 17th century bishop, Thomas Ken, which Rev Alsbury says, “speaks most powerfully of what it has all been about – providing an inclusive, welcoming space for worship, fellowship and visitors – a church that is not just for Sundays but open every day for people of all faiths and none, to enter and find peace and inspiration or be fascinated by its history.”
He added that he has enjoyed “guiding the journey” through Holy Week to Easter each year and providing words and music for reflection each Good Friday, as well as working with the wider community to provide a fitting online Remembrance in 2020 when Covid prevented people from gathering for the usual Remembrance Service.

Joys and sorrows

Rev Alsbury continued, “It has been a privilege to share with folk in the joys and sorrows of life, ministering at baptisms, weddings and funerals – as one of the few clergy in the Diocese entrusted with power to act on behalf of the Bishop in granting marriage licences, it was good during the Covid pandemic to be able to help couples arrange weddings when normal procedures could not be followed.

“Reaching the point where the Derbyshire Welldressing website included our annual well dressing at Frome as an ‘out of area’ one was a real recognition of the folk of all ages from church, community and several local schools who over the years have used traditional and then collage techniques to adorn the well around St Aldhelm’s Day each year – and the wonderful flowers contributed by children from our church school.

Musical culture

“It has been a joy to see the growth of Frome Festival from its very beginning and our children have benefited greatly from the broad artistic and musical culture of Frome. The period when Alan Burgess was head at our church school and also widely involved in music at church and with young people in the community was of particular significance. Music remains a passion for our son, and our daughter is now developing her professional career as an actor on stage and screen.

“I was particularly glad that on my penultimate Sunday of active ministry, at our service of lessons and carols, it was possible to include prayers from the (only just) newly authorised prayers of love and faith within that service. When I was ordained in 1980, we were still campaigning for the ordination of women in the Church of England and as I retire, it is at last possible to pray, within ordinary main church services, for God’s blessing on loving and faithful couples whatever their gender pairing may be.”

The Church of England will look to start the process of appointing a successor when Rev Alsbury leaves his post, and interviews are expected to take place later in the year.