St Mary's
Sturminster Marshall
St Stephen's
Kingston Lacy
St Bartholomew's
Shapwick
CHURCH AT HOME: WEEK 2
Dear Friends in the Bridge and Lower Stour Benefices,
I hope you are well. It has been good to be in touch with many of you this week.
If any of you need anything or would like me to pray for you or with you, please do get in touch with me.
Here are links to the Sunday service for 29th March. It is in two parts:
And here's a video showing all your candles from last Sunday evening (it makes a good ending to the service above).
I'm looking for people to read the Bible passage and lead intercessions in future video clips (film at home and send them to me). If this is something you might like to do, please let me know.
Future Events
1. Morning Prayer. I plan to hold Morning Prayer via Zoom on Wednesday 1st April at 9.00am. It will last around 30 minutes. If you would like to join us, please let me know.
2. Easter Joy. What is bringing you joy in these challenging times? For Easter Day, as we celebrate the joy of Easter, I'd like to make a short film showing what is bringing everyone joy. If you can send a photo of what brings you joy, or a video clip (max 50 seconds), or a sentence by email, or phone me to tell me, then I'll put something together. If you send a photo or video and are able to appear in the shot too, all the better as it would be an Easter joy to see each other too!
With my love and prayers,
God Bless,
Carolyn
About the Bridge Benefice
These three beautiful villages are situated between Wimborne Minster and Blandford Forum in the county of Dorset and in the Diocese of Salisbury. Each village has its own church, with lots going on, but we also enjoy getting together for joint services and social events.
The photo at the top of the page shows White Mill Bridge, where the three parish boundaries meet. There has been a mill here on the River Stour for centuries. Now in the care of the National Trust, it is well worth a visit.
To find out more about what's going on across the Benefice please explore our website further.
We also work closely with our neighbouring parishes in the Lower Stour Benefice: Spetisbury, Charlton Marshall and Lower Blandford St Mary. In fact, we share a priest-in-charge, Rev Carolyn Couzens.
Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, is a time when we reflect on the sacrifice which Jesus Christ made for us when he died on the cross. We commemorate this momentous event on Good Friday. By thinking about what Jesus did for us, and by trying to do something for Him, for our neighbours, and for the beautiful world He gave us, we can make amends for those things we are not proud of, and we can renew our determination to be good, kind and caring.
Coronavirus update
Due to Covid-19 all regular church services are cancelled and our buildings are closed for the foreseeable future.
However, the church is still active in the community and we are still praying.
If we can support you in any way, please do contact us:
revcarolyncouzens@gmail.com or 01258 858353
May you know God's blessing and peace.
Carolyn
Rev. Carolyn Couzens
Priest-in-Charge
PLEASE NOTE April's Bridge Magazine will not be delivered to your homes. You can pick up a copy here:
Stur Marshall Nisa, Co-op, Memorial Hall porch, St Mary's church porch, Vines Close Farm Shop
Shapwick St Bart's church porch
Pamphill St Stephen's church porch
Our Monthly Service Rota
Safeguarding
In the Bridge Benefice we take our responsibilities concerning the safeguarding of children, young people, and vulnerable adults very seriously, and we try to ensure that we always work in accordance with best practice. To view the Safeguarding Policy of each of our churches please visit their webpages.
For any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our Safeguarding Officer,