Church News & Events

SERVICES AT ST MARY'S CHURCH, CUSOP 

Our services are always welcoming so please join us if you can!

Sunday 18th May - Holy Communion led by Revd Jane Rogers at 11am

Sunday 15th June Holy Communion led by Revd Janet Russell at 11am

 

Caring for God’s Acre – Coffee, Cake and Conservation

Our next Taskforce Day will take place on Friday 6th June. We start at 9.30am but it’s very relaxed. Everyone is very welcome to come along and lend a hand. You can choose any job you like and stay for as long or short as you want. You will be rewarded with cake and a hot or cold drink. If you can, please bring your own tools and a packed lunch if you plan to stay all day.

We love new volunteers so if you would like to join our friendly group please contact celiacundale@aol.com

 

A Summer Concert  -  Friday 27th June at 7.00pm at Cusop Church

Lyndon Eatough-Smith and a group of his students will be performing  a varied programme of music on a variety of instruments. Proceeds from this concert will go to Mesothelioma UK, the charity that supports mesothelioma patients and their families.This promises to be a really enjoyable and entertaining evening!

Tickets £5 (under 12s free) to include light refreshments available at the door.

Easter Sunday Service

A previous gloomy and  damp day gave way to glorious sunshine on Easter morning. The pink cherry blossom in the churchyard was overflowing and the magnolia, planted in memory of Reg and Gwyneth Williams, looked magnificent.

The pews were packed with worshippers AND we welcomed children! A very big thank you to all our helpers. The church was so inviting with not a sign of dust and fabulous Easter arrangements reminding us of the Easter message of “new life” and “growth”.

Thank you, Revd Luci, who led an uplifting service with the help of Jemima’s animated and youthful reading of the resurrection which filled the congregation with the Easter promise of hope and eternal life. Val, our ever-loyal and much appreciated organist, accompanied some joyous singing and the whole atmosphere resonated with ”Our parish church is alive!”

The children were given pretty Easter baskets to collect their egg “templates” hidden in the churchyard  which were then exchanged for a Cadbury’s mini egg. It also transpired that a basket of mini eggs at the church door was rapidly depleted by the aduts with many exclaiming, “They’re my favourite!”

Thank you everyone who attended and contributed to the happy atmosphere of the service. Your support and encouragement means a lot.

Memorial Service for the Reverend Prebendary Paul Barnes

(1938-2025)

Revd Jane welcomed a congregation that came from across the United Benefice and beyond including Revd Roger James and his wife, Sue. Revd Paul Barnes was our much-loved vicar from 1986-2001. On his retirement, Paul and Jackie moved to Malden, Essex and a Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving was held on 28th February at All Saints Church, Malden. The hymns from this service were also sung at the Memorial Service and Janet Robinson read the lesson, John 1: 1-8, “In the beginning was the Word ...” which was also chosen by Paul.

The Tribute, read by Revd Jane, was written by Paul’s daughter, Caroline. It reflected Paul’s sense of fun as a father and his deep faith and commitment as a priest. The congregation were invited to add their own personal memories of Paul.These emphasised his love and care of his parishioners when he aimed to visit every single one regardless of faith or no faith and his extraordinary ability to get along with everyone. Paul’s commitment to pastoral care in times of sorrow was deeply appreciated. His support and encouragement of young families was huge with a Family Service every week in the Benefice accompanied by “The Band” which consisted of about a dozen youngsters playing violins, cello, flute, saxophone, recorders and drums. Many members of “The Band” were confirmed thanks to Paul’s Confirmation Classes and still have strong faith today.

We are so grateful to Revd Jane and Janet for organising the Memorial Service which gave us an opportunity to show our appreciation and love of Paul and Jackie and the lasting influence they had upon our lives and those of our children.

May Paul  and Jackie rest in peace.

 

Well Done, Cusop Mothers’ Union!

There were fabulous numbers for the special Lady Day Service at the Village Hall when Cusop MU  welcomed members who travelled quite some distance from other parts of the Diocese and even members from over the border turned up!

Revd Penny Littlewood, Mothers’ Union Chaplain, had designed a lovely service that was led by Revd Luci and Jean (Lindsay) played the keyboard as skilfully as always!

The Cusop team had prepared the most lavish tea of sandwiches, delicious cakes and much, much more. They had obviously worked really hard and given up so much time to prepare such a wonderful spread which everyone thoroughly enjoyed whilst seated in the sunny conservatory. It was such a friendly and welcoming atmosphere and everyone was touched by Cusop’s  warm hospitality and kindness. It may have been hard work but how lovely that Cusop MU gave such enjoyment and pleasure to others!

Hereford Food Bank

A recent report from the Food Bank states, “Unfortunately,  January 2025 was busier than January 2024 and we are expecting a similar increase in February 2025.  We are seeing a lot more families who are saying their income is insufficient to meet the cost of essentials. We are also providing food to more pensioners than we have previously.

A positive is that the referrals for those who are homeless is decreasing.  There has been a lot of work with other agencies to signpost to ensure those who are street homeless can access hot food provision and appropriate support. “

With the Easter holidays on the horizon, please give generously. Volunteers pick up items every Wednesday morning at 11.30am from Cusop Church and Cusop Village Hall. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated.

 

Yew Tree Cards for Sale at Church

Archie Miles, renowned photographer happened to be in our churchyard one day. He was so impressed with our magnificent ancient yew trees that he took photographs and asked our permission to print cards. We said, "Yes please!" The cards are now for sale in the church.

 

Charitable Giving

The PCC aims to donate 10% of its operating income to outside causes. In 2024, we donated a total of £1,136.50 which was 10.9% operating income. Donations were made to the following charities: 

St Michael's Hospice - £618.50  (Lent Lunch proceeds)

Messy Church - £50.00

Hereford Food Bank - £100

Royal British Legion - £343.00

Hereford Chuches Tourism Trust - £25.00

Thank you to everyone who has helped to make these donations possible.

 

Stone Seat Celebration

Sandwiched between soaking wet and gloomy days, we were blessed with perfect weather for our Stone Seat Celebration! We had a great turnout including four well-behaved dogs. Thank you to everyone who came and supported the event. It was an opportunity for us to show our appreciation to Robert “Tush” for constructing such a beautiful Stone Seat at the back of our Bee and Butterfly Garden from where visitors can either admire distant views of Mousecastle or the flowers and herbs in the garden alive with buzzing bees and butterflies.

Robert was thanked and presented with a gift. He explained how he had sourced the stone from different places in our area which makes it a real “Community Stone Seat”. A very big thank you to Sue, Keith, Larry, Pauline, Angela, Jeremy and Caroline who presented singalong songs and a selection of poetry. It was hugely entertaining and great fun!

Our thanks to everyone who contributed to the fabulous spread of sandwiches and cakes and helped serve cups of tea and wash up afterwards. The churchyard is such a wonderful venue for these friendly and happy events!

Banner – “Crown Him Lord of Life”

Walking into the church, you will now see a fabulous banner that was designed by Lis Charles and made by a small group of worshippers many years ago. The banner has been at the back of the church, unnoticed, for a very long time. We’re delighted with its new position so that visitors when entering the church can’t fail to appreciate it and read the Christian message.

Launch Party for our Information Boards 

Our Launch Party was a happy and joyous occasion!  The sun shone down as we welcomed thirty Year 6 pupils from Eastbrook Primary School in Dagenham who were quite spellbound having just arrived from a traffic jam on the M25 to the bliss and beauty of our churchyard! The pupils and teachers from Trewern were a splendid addition to our party and there was a great turnout from our local community!

The Party was an opportunity to tell everyone about why our ancient church is so special and how the churchyard is a haven for wildlife encouraging a wide variety of flora and fauna. We hope that the Boards will act as a springboard for visitors of all ages to explore and enjoy our church and churchyard.. The teachers at Trewern are delighted with them and will regularly be using the Boards as a teaching resource..

It’s been a challenging project and there were lots of people to thank in public  especially our artists, Lizzie Harper and Alison Alcock, also Keith Hodgetts and Caroline Hafner,  John Wilks and Cusop History Group who helped design the boards, Shelley Signs from Shrewsbury who made them, Danny Tong and John Buckwell who so carefully installed the boards and OTM who mowed the grass and cut the hedge perfectly in time for the party. Our thanks also to the Heritage Lottery Fund for giving us a grant covering a large part of the cost.

It was a great moment when the children excitedly unveiled the boards to a countdown! Lizzie, who drew the illustrations for the Flora and Fauna Boards helped with the unveiling. She hadn’t seen the boards previously but was delighted with them. We then had some fabulous entertainment from Keith, Sue and Larry, and refreshments were served. It was a very happy and memorable occasion!

 

Flower and Cleaning Rota

 A HUGE thank you to all our wonderful helpers who do such an amazing job! Our beautiful church always looks clean and welcoming and that’s all because of their hard work and commitment. We are truly grateful.

Plan of Graves in Churchyard

A new and updated plan of all the graves in the churchyard is now in the church for visitors who are searching for their relatives’ memorials. There is also an alphabetical list of all memorials for quick reference. Our thanks to John Wilks who produced the original version of this as previously, there was no accurate record. We’re also very grateful to Jane Weaver who has photographed every memorial individually.

All donations for churchyard maintenance gratefully received!

It costs Cusop PCC over £1000 a year to have the grass mowed in our churchyard. We don’t receive any grants towards this even though the whole community benefits from the wide open space in our beautiful churchyard which is incredibly popular with dog walkers, young families and people of all ages.

One sunny day, I met two ladies laying a tablecloth and sharing coffee and cake together in the open air.  It’s thanks to our wonderful God’s Acre volunteers and the grass cutting regime that we can keep our costs down to £1,000 but it is still a lot of money. If you would like to make a donation towards the costs of maintaining our churchyard, please place it in the Donation Box inside the church by the main door or contact Celia Cundale, Churchwarden, or our Treasurer, Malcolm Darbyshire.

Any donation large or small will make a difference. Thank You!

Churchyard Flowers 

As part of our Eco Church programme, we do not allow artificial flowers or oasis in the churchyard, “Fresh flowers are encouraged as the symbol of the gift of creation and the brevity of life.  Artificial flowers, e.g. silk or plastic flowers, are inappropriate”. (Diocesan churchyard regulations)  It’s wonderful how everyone has taken this on board and the PCC would like to sincerely thank you for this.  Thank you for helping to keep our churchyard beautiful and for being kind to nature.

ECO CHURCH

Brown Long-Eared Bats

We’re so grateful to Paul and Jane Smith and other local bat enthusiasts who identified brown long-eared bats in the darkness of Cusop Church . A year ago, we participated in the “Bats in Churches” project identifying the presence of bats  and their entry points into our church. Our feedback to the project was part of a national survey showing the distribution of bats in churches. We  thought our bats were most likely common pipistrelles so were delighted to hear that our church is home to the rarer brown long-eared bat.

The brown long-eared bat certainly lives up to its name ; its ears are nearly as long as its body! Otherwise, it’s a medium size bat measuring 3.7-5.2cm long with a wingspan of  20-30cm and weighing  6-12grams. It has greyish-brown fur and a relatively slow, fluttery flight.

As with all UK bats, it’s nocturnal, only coming out at night to feed on midges, moths and other flying insects. It has an incredible sense of direction thanks to echolocation, which it uses to hunt prey. Brown long-eared bats roost in holes in trees and old buildings. In the summer, females form maternity colonies and have just a single pup each. Our wonderful volunteers who clean the church will be glad to know that they hibernate over winter between November and April thus causing less mess in the church!

 

Apple Tree Project

The project has been admired by all who visit our churchyard.  It’s wonderful that it’s become a real community effort and there are so many people to thank for giving up their time and offering their skills.

Thank you to all those who took wood chippings and made generous donations to the church. A special thank you to Julian Smith for removing a large, ivy- infested trunk and Andy Fryers and John Hanson for helping to transform the area into an attractive and comfortable home for the apple trees. The trees were carefully planted by ten masked volunteers supervised by Ainsleigh. A huge thank you to Ainsleigh and the Marches Apple Network for all their expertise and help with this fabulous project.

As always, our very grateful thanks to our loyal volunteers who excelled themselves with the planting and then continued working in the churchyard weeding and clearing unwanted brambles.

It has been a joy to see children hugging their trees and faces lit up with smiles on seeing the trees planted which have become beacons of hope for the future. Thank you again to all who have helped with this inspirational project. 

Celia Cundale

Support and Care

If you would like to talk to someone, there are people who are there to listen. Life doesn’t always go to plan, for all kinds of reasons, such as illness, grief, change of circumstances, relational issues or loneliness.  As a church community we are here to offer you support, a listening ear and prayer, whatever it is you’re going through.  Our pastoral visiting team are good listeners and have all undergone safeguarding checks and training. Please contact: 

E mail: pastoralvisitors@gmail.com

Telephone: 01981 501032

 

Cusop Church is an Eco Church 

“He saw all that he made and it was good”. God loved his creation and it’s our responsibility to care for it.

God loved his creation and it’s our responsibility to care for it. At Cusop Church, we’ve been guided by the wonderful charity , Caring for God’s Acre, and thanks to the hard work of local volunteers, we’ve been able to follow a conservation programme for over 15 years. This includes a grass cutting regime so we have meadow areas where wild flowers and grasses can flourish. The increasing diversity of plants that now grow encourages not just pollinators like bees but a whole range of species of insects and minibeasts.

We have bird and hedgehog boxes, a fabulous Bug Hotel and four enormous compost heaps! We know our churchyard is a haven for wildlife as we’ve found toads, slow worms and fascinating beetles on our taskforce days and we must protect these animals.

One autumnal morning, we went “hunting” in the churchyard and found thirty-five species of fungi.  We love memorials made from natural local stone as it encourages different kinds of lichen that are so important for our ecosystem. A lichen survey revealed an incredible seventy-nine species of lichen in our churchyard with the oldest natural stone memorials “being home” to the rarest lichen. We’ve now signed up to Eco Church and that’s inspired us with new projects including planting eight apple trees which are all Herefordshire varieties.

If we added up the acreage of all churchyards it’s a massive amount of land. If at least some of this land is carefully managed to encourage wild native plants and animals that would increase biodiversity and make a significant difference to our environment.

Every single organism plays a role in our ecosystem from the tiny bee that pollinates the wild flowers to the huge ancient yew which provides a home and food for wildlife.

God wants us to protect the glory, beauty and diversity of his creation so please let’s do it!

 

Welcome Booklet

In conjunction with Cusop Village Hall and the Parish Council, Cusop Church has produced a Welcome Booklet and we have already started delivering this to new residents living at Bookers Edge. The booklet contains a wealth of useful information about amenities and activities in and around Cusop. If you want to view it, log onto www.cusop.net and you’ll find it on the Useful Links page under Home. Our thanks to Alison Matthews for setting up this link on the village website. If you know anyone who would like to have a printed copy of "The Welcome Booklet", please contact Celia Cundale (01497-820396).