The Church of England in Compton Valence, Dorchester, West Stafford, Winterborne Monkton, Winterborne St Martin (Martinstown), Winterbourne Abbas & Winterbourne Steepleton
By the time you read this Lent will be into its second week but if, in these multi-cultural, multi-faith or no-faith times, you mention Lent in general conversation with someone, you might well be asked ‘What’s Lent?’ A fair enough question because if you have friends who are Jews, Muslims or Hindus you might ask them ‘what is Ramadan, Hanukkah or Diwali' seeking information about different religious seasons and festivals, all of which are important to those of other faiths and about which we probably know little.
It is wonderful, at last, to be among you in Dorchester, to have moved into Herringston Road and to be slowly going through the process of unpacking and adjusting to living in a completely new context. I am beginning to find my way around the benefice, although I still rely heavily on my satnav to find places. Once lockdown is over, I am really looking forward to meeting many of you, although you will have to be patient with my ability to put together the right names and faces.
Yes, time is linear and therefore always on the move. November is a month of remembrances and for remembrance.
At the beginning of the month we remember All Souls tide, which calls to mind all the faithful departed. On the second Sunday of the month we keep Remembrance Sunday and recall the supreme sacrifice paid by the ‘Glorious Dead’ (as the Cenotaph in Whitehall, calls them).
The impact of COVID-19 is changing us. In many ways, people have stepped up to look after each other. Churches have been part of this but it’s been a much broader movement of neighbourly care. We have applauded the NHS and care workers and we have redefined who are the key workers. The desire to look after each other is strong.
A message from The Bishop of Sherborne Rev Karen Gorham:
I am pleased to announce that the Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of the Revd Keith Magee as Team Rector of Dorchester and the Winterbournes. Keith is currently Vicar of St Peter’s Church, Braunstone Park – a large urban parish in the diocese of Leicester. He trained at Westcott House Theological College Cambridge and was ordained in 2001.
It was one year ago that I left Dorchester and the Diocese of Salisbury and I am pleased to be asked to make a guest appearance in the pages of the magazine for September 2020. What a time we have had of it! In the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic many of us drew encouragement and hope from the words of Her Majesty The Queen:
We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.
I have appreciated over the last few months having a little extra time to read and one of the books I have been challenged by has been ‘Accompaniment, Community and Nature’* by one of our local clergy, the Revd Canon Jonathan Herbert.
It is easy to think of Christian Community as a rather exclusive thing, with its own rules and rhythms known only to those who belong there. Far from it, writes Jonathan, as he describes some of his own experiences of communities of hope and welcome, including two in our diocese – Pilsdon and Hilfield.
Ten years ago I led a team of workplace chaplains in Cambridgeshire and regularly visited the staff at Cambridge Crown Courts. On several occasions I took round the Courts a group of local ordinands. I asked them to visit staff and defendants with their families who sat outside the courts anxiously waiting to be called in. When reporting back they were asked to answer a short question, “Where is God in all this”. There were many responses such as “Christ was suffering with them”.
