Octavo October 2020 Vol 19 I
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2 The Benefice of Stour Vale Vicar The Rev’d Richard Priest The Vicarage, Kington Magna, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5EW Email: [email protected] 01747 838494 Day off—Monday Licensed Lay Minister Anthony Thomas Cobb Cottage, Church St, West Stour, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5RN Email: [email protected] 01747 838698 Licensed Lay Minister Carol Hibbert Parsons Glebe, Church Street, West Stour, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5RL Email: [email protected] 01747 838272 Group Treasurer Sue Jones 01747 838784 Email: [email protected] Safeguarding Officer Maria Windross 01747 838324 For Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals please contact the Vicar at the above address. Website www.stourvalechurches.org.uk The Magazine Editor Jill Perry, 3 Church Close, Stour Row, Shaftesbury, SP7 0QE. Tel: 01747 838911 [email protected] Treasurer Sue Jones East Stour 01747 838784 Advertising Jill Perry [email protected] COPY DATES for the November 2020 issue Advertising to Jill Perry 10am Tuesday 20th October Articles to Jill Perry 1pm –Wednesday 21st October PUBLICATION Monday 26th October Distribution Online via email from Richard or the Website: https://www.stourvalechurches.org.uk/ If you know someone who needs a paper copy please contact Richard—details above Published by The Stour Vale Benefice – Printed at Kington Magna Copyright reserved on all material Cover photo—Autumn Colour 3 John’s Caravans Mobile Caravan Servicing & Repairs 01747 853114 07546 548017 Lodden Garden & Property Care Husband and wife team offering garden and home improvements including grass and hedge care, kitchens and bathrooms, tiling and decorating. Call Katharine and Simon 07570 774400 to discuss your needs 4 Stour Vale Benefice Service have now resumed—see service rota on page 22. However please remember we will be asking you to: Use sanitizing gel on entry and exit, give your name and phone number as part of the ‘Track & Trace’ requirements, wear a face covering Observe social distancing at all times. Please also remember we are not allowed to sing at the moment, and receiving communion will be carried out in a different way to keep everyone as safe as possible. But, most importantly, if you do feel ill or have symptoms of any kind, please do not come to church. You will be guided through the procedures required so don’t worry about them too much – it will be lovely to see you. Harvest Communions Harvest Festivals—due to Covid restrictions we will not be able to hold harvest festivals in their traditional form this year. We will have ‘Harvest Communions’ at which some churches will collect dried and tinned food for the Food Bank. This will be a ticketed event—please see page 13 for details VISITORS PLEASE NOTE: Face coverings must be worn (unless you have an exemption). Because of the need for social distancing places will be limited, so, regretfully, we will not be able to admit you without a valid ticket to keep you and others safe. 5 East Stour Hairport Ltd Stylist for Men and Women Debbie Hatcher 01747 838060 BackStreet, East Stour Gillingham, Dorset. SP8 5JX 6 What it means to be an LLM In Praise of Licensed Lay Ministry As a Diocese we believe strongly in collaborative ministry between our clergy and those who serve without being ordained. We recognise many of the aspects of lay ministry by having it blessed by our Bishops, who authorise members of our churches to serve as Licensed Lay Ministers as well as lay leaders and pioneers in worship, pastoral care, outreach and pioneer ministry. Here, Licensed Lay Minister in Training Barbara Priest talks in praise of the role she is about to undertake: "As I enter my third and final year of training for Licensed Lay Ministry here in Salisbury Diocese, I find myself reflecting on what it might mean to be an LLM. "Due to the pandemic lockdown, our summer term placements kept us in our home parishes to assess ministry and mission under Covid-19 from these familiar surroundings and I am sure I was not alone in emerging from the experience with personal issues to consider as well as those of the wider picture. The summer break which followed provided an effective opportunity to assimilate what I had discovered and reflect on new avenues which may feature in my future as an LLM. But it also reminded me just how versatile LLM ministry can be. "What will the role of LLMs become as we move forward from this unbelievable year? I would suggest the broad answer could be absolutely anything. This was why I felt called to lay ministry from the outset; recognising the flexibility within the official role description to be creative, imaginative, and to respond to the needs that are unveiled before me. "My distinct calling is to contemplative ministry, and the initiatives I have already shared have proved this to be a need that I feel will only become stronger in our demanding modern world. But that is my sense of calling and others will have their own vocational vision, each according to their own gifts. "Although training is carried out in the company of ordinands, Licensed Lay Ministry remains distinctive. Yes, the required knowledge and training are similar, but the outcome and vision with which we enter our personal ministries will be vastly varied. And, as I am currently discovering, these ministries evolve and transform over time, opening new paths and possibilities we may not originally have considered. continued page 9 7 Timepiece Restoration Ltd Paul J. G. Stone C.M.B.H.I. Repairs to French & English Antique Clocks All work done on the premises, guaranteed for 12 months. Opening Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday—10am-1pm 2-5pm only. Ferndale, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, SP8 4LL Tel: 01747 823339 -19 CANCELLED At the moment due to Covid KEITH HOLLAND Painter and Decorator Tel No. : 01747 838959 (West Stour) Mobile : 07939 407756 Painting and Decorating Tiling Free estimates General Building No job too small 8 What it means to be an LLM—continued "Through prayer and paying attention to God’s call we can take that ministry anywhere we feel drawn, and that might not be in church on Sundays. LLMs are particularly well placed to serve their communities outside of the church building throughout the week, and wherever we are meant to be, we can be sure that God will find a way of nudging us in that direction! "Catherine of Siena reputedly wrote “Be whom God means you to be and you will set the world on fire.” Licensed Lay Ministry is arguably one of the most exciting and fulfilling vocations, offering the potential to take Christ’s message far beyond the church walls and in a variety of ways, and yet few in our Diocese seem to explore it. "So, I urge you, if you feel called to ministry but are not yet clear where you are being guided, talk to your vicar initially, and then to our Vocations Co-ordinator, and begin a conversation. Because if ever you were needed, it is now!" Barbara Written for Salisbury Diocese online magazine ‘The Grapevine’ https://www.salisbury.anglican.org/news/in-praise-of-licensed-lay-ministry Stour Vale Benefice Facebook Page We have our own Facebook page! Go to Facebook.com and search: Stour Vale CofE—or click the link. https://www.facebook.com/Stour-Vale-CofE- 107130680934164/?ref=settings If you ‘do’ Facebook then “like” our page for news, information, resources, and all manner of other things. You can still view our services etc. without ‘signing in’, just click ‘not now’ when the ‘see more’ box comes up Don’t miss out……. 9 ROB’S CLEARANCE Full and partial house, garden, shed, garage undertaken. All rubbish removed. Recycling carried out. Registered waste carrier. Recommended by solicitors and estate agents. Good interesting items purchased. Friendly and reliable. TEL: 01747 839751 / 07956414896 TAI CHI - QIGONG A gentle, meditative exercise suitable for ALL THE abilities (can be seated) HANDYMAN Improves balance, strength, flexibility, Breathing & relieves stress Helps with many chronic conditions MAINTENANCE * REPAIRS * BUCKHORN WESTON VILLAGE HALL IMPROVEMENTS ON TUESDAYS AT 10:45am AND CARPENTRY * PAINTING & DECORATING EAST STOUR VILLAGE HALL PATIOS * DECKING ON THURSDAYS AT 11am BOOKING ESSENTIAL AND MUCH, MUCH MORE, For more information and/or to BUT, I DON’T DO CHANDELIERS book your place CONTACT: JULIE MCDOUGAL Contact Paul on: 01747 821651 OR 07973 758106 Tel: 01747 858552 Email: Mob: 07926 081758 [email protected] Email: [email protected] 10 Thought for October During the summer I watched an episode of BBC Songs of Praise which focused on an art installation I love by sculptor Antony Gormley. Set on Crosby Beach near Liverpool, it is called Another Place and is made up of 100 life-sized iron figures planted in the sand and sea, all looking out towards the horizon. As the tides ebb and flow, the figures are, in turn, revealed and submerged by the sea. Speaking in 2005, Antony Gormley said the installation was the poetic response to the individual and universal sentiments associated with emigration – sadness at leaving, but the hope of a new future. However, the Songs of Praise interviews proved that these emotionless iron figures inspire a very personal and often spiritual response in many people who spend time with them. A local photographer finds that, viewing them in all lights, weathers and tides, brings him, through his images, closer to God’s presence. An artist likes the fact that they are numbered – all counted and precious, as we are, in God’s eyes. And, elsewhere, I have read of a widow who wrote of “befriending” one of these figures and going to the beach each day to talk to it.