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 March 2021 issue Advertising to Jill Perry 10am Tuesday 16th February Articles to Jill Perry 1pm Wednesday 17th February PUBLICATION Thursday 25th February Distribution Online via email from Richard or the Website: https://www.stourvalechurches.org.uk/ Subscriptions for 2021 are due—please see pages 15-16 for details Published by The Stour Vale Benefice – Printed at Kington Magna Copyright reserved on all material Cover photo—Misty morning. 3 Serving the Blackmore Vale for over 30 years 4 Stour Vale Benefice online Services during February Morning Prayer every Sunday at 10am 17th February Evening Prayer for Ash Wednesday 7pm On our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/ Anglican-Church/Stour-Vale-CofE- 107130680934164/ Stour Vale Benefice During January services returned to streaming online due to the Covid-19 situation—this will probably still be the case during February so please check the website/newsletters/our Facebook page/with your local church for updates. If Services have resumed please remember we will be asking you to: Use sanitizing gel on entry and exit, give your contact details as strongly recommended for NHS ‘Test & Trace’, 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. 5 SEAN BARRINGTON SHARPENING SERVICES Garden Shears, Pruners, Secateurs, Loppers, Scissors, Knives, Wood Chisels, Rotary Mower Blades, Horse and Dog Clipping Blades 13 Old Market Centre | Gillingham | Dorset | SP8 4QQ Tel: 01747 228664 | 07950 746416 www.seanbarringtonclippers.co.uk 6 From the Vicar Light at the end of the tunnel Things can change in a very short time and some are finding it increasingly difficult in the new lockdown. However we do now have reason to look forward with great anticipation. There are two versions of anti-virus being administered and, so far, over 5 million people have been vaccinated. This means that within weeks, if not days, many of us will have immunity to Covid-19. So we should not despair. Thinking of being in a tunnel reminds me of a lovely story from Rev W. Awdry in his Thomas the tank engine books. Henry, the green engine, had just been painted and he was very proud of his new paint. However he did not want to get dirty so when it rained he went into a tunnel and stopped inside. Despite all the encouragement from the fat controller he refused to move and so a wall was built blocking him in. His fire went out and he got very dirty and became despondent. Probably how many of us feel at the moment and yet just like Henry there was a time when he was needed and he realised that there was more to life that a new coat of paint. We too may feel that we are locked in a tunnel but if we look carefully we can see the glimmer of light that is giving us a reason to hope for a better future. We have just celebrated the season of Christmas, the birth of a new life and light that has spread throughout the world. This is our light at the end of the tunnel and, just like Henry, we are being given the opportunity to break down the walls that surround us. When Henry was released it was to help Edward to haul the express after Gordon had broken down. It was a job of great responsibility and a task neither could do on their own. Are we too being called to a job with responsibility? To help look after those around us who are isolating or are housebound with other problems. If we stay like Henry behind that invisible wall our fire will also go out, but if we take the great leap of faith then, also like Henry, we may be able to take on a task of great importance and do something beyond our wildest dreams. Where will you stay when you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Will you hide behind the wall or will you follow the light to a new beginning. I hope and pray that it will be the latter because being locked in a tunnel is of no use to anyone, including ourselves. Continued page 9 7 We have Exmoor Horn Sheep, Large Black Pigs, Dexter Cattle and Dawns’ Happy Hens. Meat available at the moment is Grass fed Dexter Beef (hung for minimum 3wks) and Large Black Pork, butchered to suit your needs. Pork Sausages,Back,Streaky & Cottage Bacon (green & smoked) Eggs are sold from the ‘Egg Box’ at the top of the drive or from the farm. For more information or to place an order please call Tim Wilton Tel: 01963 371232 Mobile: 07720 345950 E-Mail: [email protected] 8 From the Vicar—continued May God bless you and keep you safe and secure during this pandemic as we pray for all those on the front line who are risking their lives for others. If you have never read the Thomas the tank engine books then you really should. They can teach us a lot, no matter what our age. Richard The Editor agrees! - Henry in his tunnel and below helping Edward The Sad Story of Henry Once an engine attached to a train Was afraid of a few drops of rain. It went into a tunnel And squeaked through its funnel And wouldn't come out again. You can hear the story being read by Johnny Morris (with original artwork) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=EC9GnPz5-Kc And Johnny can also be heard reading about Henry coming back out of his tunnel too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7Xp98AEdMU 9 Friendly lady Gardener, all small gardening jobs undertaken in the local area including: Grass Cutting Weeding Planting— Hanging Baskets and Pots Pruning Reasonable rates Please call Lorraine on 01747 838120 Phone: 01747 838120 E-mail: [email protected] Offering a professional service, producing Planning and Building Regulation Drawings from initial ideas to approval for: New Builds. Extensions. Conversions. Sap Energy Rating on New Builds and Highly Glazed Extensions Water Efficiency Calculations Contact: 07968 739 168 [email protected] 10 Thought & Prayer for February I am taking the liberty of combining the “Thought” and “Prayer” this month, following the discovery of a reflection by John Henry Newman on Radio 4 last month. Newman (21st February 1801 – 11th August 1890) was an English theologian and poet, an Anglican priest and later a Catholic priest and cardinal. The musicians amongst you will know him as the author of the religious poem, “The Dream of Gerontius”, famously put to music by Sir Edward Elgar. He was both an important and controversial figure in the religious history of 19th century England and was canonised as a Catholic saint in 2019. The radio programme explored the changes and chances of life that we all experience, but perhaps particularly acute in this time of pandemic. Included in the broadcast was the following prayer which, I thought, was a timely reminder that, whatever we face, we are still part of God’s mission of love… Barbara Priest “God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this world, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. I shall do good, I shall do his work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep his commandments. Therefore I will trust him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him. If I am in perplexity, my perplexity may serve him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what he is about. He may take away my friends, he may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, he knows what he is about”. Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman 11 FOOT CARE CLINIC at EDWARDS FARM, FOYLE HILL Every Tuesday in the month Jenny Franks SRN 20 years experience CRB checked Tel: 01747 853162 For appointments 12 Compline & Company While our meetings are suspended, I am continuing to send a Compline & Company audio file by email to those who regularly attend, providing our service of Compline, including prayers a reflection and a time to be still.