The Good Shepherd I Suppose This Is Tony One of the Most Favourite Sub
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Lord’s Weather Not that you would know it by look- Recently however I was taken to task. “It was beautiful Paddy ing out of the window, but the cricket earlier, but now it‟s miserable,” I offered insightfully to a season is here. Wet, windy and cold, departing congregant. “It is the Lord‟s weather…” came King the weather has been more reminis- the happy retort, and they strolled off happily into clouds cent of early April, leading to images of swirling fog. of chilly West Indies players playing at Lords being beamed around the world. It‟s not a great The truth is, that like the weather, life is unpredictable. look for a summer in which we play host to a global audi- Time we spend anxiously peering out of the window wait- ence of sports fans. ing for the clouds to pass and the sun to come out is time we could be using more creatively. „Variable prospects‟ The general consensus around the world is that Brits talk sums up both weather and our lives. But, like „the Lord‟s an awful lot about the weather. Where my father lives, on weather‟, by offering up our lives and placing them in the Australia‟s Gold Coast, the weather is entirely predictable. hands of God we spend less time worrying, less time crip- In fact, there is no weather; rather there are seasons. No- pled by angst, and more time simply living. body talks about the weather; it is what it is. We live on an island where it‟s constantly changing, and the reality is In the Qu'ran, Muslims are told that they should never say that so much of what we do is affected by the weather. they will do a particular thing in the future without adding "in sha'Allah" (God willing) to the statement. This simple On Sunday mornings, as I stand at the door greeting folk shift of attitude removes our desire for control, for making on their way home from the morning services at St Peter‟s, plans and worrying about sticking to them, by placing I find it very hard not to pass comment on the state of the them into the hands of God. It is the equivalent of happily weather. I have shaken hands warmly with people and sent asserting “it is the Lord‟s weather” and then getting on them out into sub-zero Siberian conditions, torrential rain, with things. gusty squalls and even the odd warm sunny morning dur- ing my two years in Dorchester. Even the walk home can I‟m playing cricket tomorrow. God willing. It‟s Salisbury be affected by such conditions, let alone plans for a Sun- Diocese‟s first game of the season. And if it keeps raining day afternoon‟s gardening, picnicking or cricketing… during the cricket season… I‟m going to find a wet-weather hobby. Who can teach me about stamp collecting? Editor Advertising Manager Margaret Morrissey Liz Green 9 Hessary Street, Poundbury 7 Sydenham Way, Dorchester DT1 3SF Dorchester DT1 1DN 01305 250366 01305 269610 [email protected] [email protected] 1 Dorchester Noticeboard? Benefice Mothers’ Union Christian Meditation Contemplative Reflection and Silence Programme An invitation to ‘come and be’ with others in the still- ness silence and simplicity of contemplative prayer. Visitors and newcomers welcome at all of our meetings. Our busy life with its constant activities and demands Tuesday 12 June St Peter’s MU meet at 2.15pm in the often leaves us longing for a breathing space. Come and hall. learn to Meditate with us. Meet at the Quiet Space Poundbury on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month Wednesday 13 June Dorcas Bible Study group meet at at 7.30pm. All are welcome For details contact Rosemary 10am at 28 Victoria Road. Praying the Psalms – A Bassett 01305 262615 or Anita Finnigan 01305 259032 Prayer for Hope. Psalm 130. Details 260259. Wednesday 20 June Dorcas MU meet at 7.30pm at the Quiet Space, Poundbury for a meditation led by Brenda Turnock. Details 260592. Dorchester Festival 1 - 5 June Five days of international music, street theatre, film, Tuesday 26 June St Mary’s MU meet at 2.30pm. Details comedy and outdoor performance. 263358. Highlights include comedy with Hardeep Singh Kohli, Wednesday 27 June Dorcas Bible Study group meet at world music from Transglobal Underground, pulsating 10am at 28 Maiden Castle Road. Praying the Psalms – African rhythms from the Mighty Zulu Nation, an audi- A Prayer of Joy. Psalm 66. Details 260259. ence with globe-trotting broadcaster Andy Kershaw and a unique film ‘Out in the Open’ that documents the Tuesday 3 July St Peter’s MU meet at 2.15pm in the stories of the homeless and vulnerably housed commu- hall. nity. www.dorchesterfestival.co.uk Tickets from: Dorchester Tourist Information Centre 01305 267992 Casterbridge Male Voice Choir A series of study evenings about the Church of England Will host Côr Meibion De Cymru and the other major Christian denominations in Britain. at St Mary’s Church on Friday 8th June at 7.30 Tickets £10, ring Graham Barter 267374 June 11th – an overview of why the diversity of Churches in our town and our country. th June 18 – the Roman Catholic Church in the modern Dorset County Museum age. SpeakEasy Night with th June 25 – the Society of Friends (the Quakers) – how Mike Denham and Steve Graham to make sense of a Church with creed! Dorset County Museum Friday 8 June 2012 at 8pm Popular pianist Mike Denham will be at the grand piano All at 7.30 p.m. at the rectory, Edward Road in Dorset County Museum’s splendid Victorian Hall. Joining him will be Steve Graham, one of the UK’s top traditional jazz trumpeters and a fine ragtime mandolin Has anyone a dressmaker’s model that St Mary’s Church player. Together they will play great music from the Jazz can borrow for July 6/7/8 when we are holding a display Age. Tickets £12 from the Museum (01305 262 735). of Vestments? Please ring 262668 if one is available. Bar. A tasty pre-show supper may be booked. Further information on www.dorsetcountymuseum.org 2 Dorchester Noticeboard? Saturday 16 June 7.30PM Bridport New Elizabethan Singers Dorchester Poverty Action Group (a Churches Together in A Jubilee Celebration Dorchester group) Handel – Coronation Anthems Coffee Morning Walton – Coronation Te Deum Parry – I was Glad & Blest Pair of Sirens to be held on Also Bainton, SS Wesley & Stanford Saturday 7 July, 10am - 12 noon St Mary’s Church, Bridport at the United Church, South Street, Tickets £10 from Goadsbys (Bridport) and Bridport Music or from Judith where there will be stalls and refresh- Cowling, Nigel Culliford, Felicity Morgan. (St. Peter’s Choir) ments. The aim is to raise funds to be able to support those in need locally by St John Ambulance Dorset giving small grants. Items for stalls The Rude Mechanical Theatre Company present needed and please come along on the “Who Saw Marjory Daw?” day. Abbey House, Abbotsbury Friday 22 June Gates open at 6pm for picnics Performance begins at 7.30pm Tickets £15 (£10 for under 16s) Phone St John Ambulance for tickets: 01305 751167 All proceeds to St John Ambulance Dorset - teaching people first aid so that they can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved. The DGT 2012 GARDEN DAY will be at WATERSTON MANOR (DT2 7SP, near Puddletown) on Sunday 1st July More background about the Trust and its activities can be found on our website: www.dorsetgardenstrust.co.uk St Simon & St Jude, Winterborne Monkton DIAMOND JUBILEE CONCERT DUNCAN HONEYBORNE (organ) and friends ROYAL MUSIC to CELEBRATE THE QUEEN’S JUBILEE Church of St Simon & St Jude, Winterborne Monkton SATURDAY 21ST JULY — 7pm Tickets (to include refreshments) £5.00 in advance from 30 Grosvenor Rd, Dorchester DT1 2BD or Southmead, Winterborne Monkton, DT2 9PR Or £6 at the door 3 ST GEORGE’S FORDINGTON MESSENGER Church Correspondent: Margaret Morrissey 250366 St George’s Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations will in- clude (or will have included by the time we read the maga- zine) a special morning service with a toast to the Queen church. Bernard is a much loved priest and with his wife in the hall and hopefully a Jubilee cake. The children are Jo play a huge part in and are much loved members of our all receiving a book to mark the great occasion. This takes congregation . me back to 1953, when as a small girl at primary school we Rev Canon Bernard Brown, MA (Oxon), graduate of Mer- were all given a copy of the New Testament, which I still ton College Oxford and trained for the ministry at Wes- have to this day. cott House, Cambridge. Made deacon in 1952 and priest in 1953. He was an honorary canon of Bristol Cathedral Part of the message from Nottinghamshire County Coun- until his retirement in 1992. cil to the children said:- “The Bible, and especially the message of the New Testa- Dorchester Community Choir ment, remains the most precious possession of the Brit- ish Nation, and indeed the whole World.” In May I was invited by the outgoing Mayor to her end of year thank you evening. We all gathered in the Corn Ex- It ends by saying: change and were welcomed by Mayor Tess. She then intro- “It is because you, the boys and girls of Nottingham- duced the Dorchester Community Choir, who I person- shire, are citizens of this great Commonwealth of Na- ally did not know existed.