The Bishop of Hereford paid a visit to Garway Church on the afternoon of Saturday 19th September 2020. This was the eighth visit of the day on the Bishop’s Prayer Pilgrimage around the bounds of his diocese. Together with his wife Deborah the Bishop was welcomed to St Michael’s Church by the incumbent Elizabeth Cathie. Sadly, the numbers in the congregation where restricted by the rules of Covid-19, but there were representatives from the PCC, the Friends of Garway Church and other parishes in the Archenfield Group.
The Friends of Garway Church became a registered charity in March this year just as lock-down was imposed. So this was the first opportunity for the Chairman of the Trustees, Malcolm Howard to explain to Bishop Richard, our Patron, the role of the Friends as a fund-raising body, committed to helping St Michael’s church, a very historic Knights Templar building of national importance, continue as an essential part of the community.
Joan Thomas, local historian
Joan Thomas, local historian, gave a condensed history of Garway and its church in a ‘nutshell’; from the Knights Templar to the present day. The Bishop was presented with a copy of ‘The River Running By’ by the author, to commemorate his visit.
The Bishop then led the congregation in prayer seeking God’s blessing on all the parishes in the deanery and stressing how important it is that we all give unfailing support to one another in these troubled times.
In his short address the Bishop acknowledged how difficult it is financially for such a remote church such as Garway, with a large sparsely populated parish. He also appreciated that the historic church building means different things to different people but it is a very important focal point in a parish.