Church

Church So much kindness being shown

Pause for Thought! For all our hopes for the New Year ahead, the famous words of Minnie Louis Haskins: And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” So, I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me toward the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East. It seems strange to be typing this

n Public worship is suspended in the Shaftesbury Team for the duration of the lockdown. We will resume online worship on Sunday 17th January via our By Nicci Brown Blandford Parish Church is researching the ‘hidden’ stories of people associated with the church over the centuries. Organisers are hoping to start by visiting the Dorset History Centre for pointers and anyone who would like to help is invited to get in touch. The Big Church Project, launched in 2018, focuses on the future use and development of the church, with a central aim of the project to engage with diverse communities and record their contribution to the history of the church and its area. Judith Ford has used parish registers and other records such as censuses and legal documents to begin the story of black, asian and minority ethnic people in the Blandford district. Her article written for the Dorset on a dull day when Christmas is still to come and we do not know what covid-19 restrictions are yet to be put in place after the Christmas Day relaxations. Yet there are still some wonderful stories being heard about how people are thinking of others, when meals are to be shared with neighbours who are housebound and lonely, or the lovely young lady who has been shopping for her elderly next-door companion and now refuses to accept any money towards the cost. Another story mentions the mechanic asked to recover a broken down car late on a Friday evening. This he did with a huge smile and at no cost. I could go on and on about the love that is being

Facebook page. Details will be given there when confirmed. Visit shaftesbury cofe.org.uk for up to date news or callhe Team Office on 01747 853060. History Centre says: “Some of these records reflect the dehumanising brutality of the slave trade that saw an estimated 3.1 million slaves transported across the Atlantic by British merchants between 1640 and 1807. For example, on the 25 February 1701, the burial took place at Winterbourne Stickland of ‘an unbaptised negro slave (belonging to Mr Vine)’. Since she had no ‘Christian’ name, she was recorded anonymously. It is the identity of the man to whom she ‘belonged’ that is provided. “For BAME people who were baptised, the information provided in parish registers can also be brief and difficult to interpret. ‘Hannah’, who was baptised at Blandford Forum on 5 June 1770 is described in parish records as ‘a Black Woman Servant of Mrs Holder’. “Was Hannah the name given to shared this Christmastide and, as a Christian, I truly believe that this is the love of Christ that is being spread around our community. So by the time you read this we will have entered another New Year that initially will be one of uncertainty but, I believe, one that will be filled with hope. A vaccine is already being administered across our nations and more will be available in the next few weeks. I pray that the future will be one that promises we will be able to get together with family and friends and make up for the trials we have faced over the last nine months, when the economy will start to return to the norm we are used

Blandford Methodist Church It has been decided to stop Sunday services until further notice. If you have a prayer request, this woman at birth or at baptism? Unlike most other records of baptism, no reference is made to her parentage. Hannah’s status remains unclear. Was she ‘free’, or was her baptism considered to be a step towards establishing her freedom? “The description ‘Black’ does not necessarily mean that she was of African heritage, since that term could be used to describe anyone of non-white ethnicity. The over-riding question prompted by this record is: who was Hannah?” Mrs Ford added: “Most visual representations of BAME people in the 18th century are of individuals in European dress. A wax seal attached to a Blandford deed, dated 1733, provides a welcome and possibly rare exception. The seal image is of the head and shoulders of an

with the Rev Richard Priest, of Stour Vale Benefice

Vicar in the Vale

to, but one where we will continue to think of others before ourselves. The birth of Jesus Christ, the miracle of Christmas, is celebrated among many religions and should be a sign of coming together rather that tearing us apart, so let us all pray for peace in this troubled world and a wonderful year ahead for all of us. May God bless you and be with you for the year ahead. Rev Richard

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Project to look at BAME in history

72 regulations. (unidentified) African man in tribal attire. It is a portrait that appears to celebrate African culture. But was it a possession of someone of African heritage, or an item that reflects the 18th century European fashion for ‘Blackamoor’ jewellery and artifacts? The owner of the seal is impossible to identify with certainty, but was probably either the signatory to the deed, Robert Weston, a barber of Blandford Forum, or one of the witnesses, Thomas Waters ‘gentleman’ and Charles Day. “The records so far found are, without exception, thoughtprovoking. They indicate the long history of black, asian and minority ethnic people in northern Dorset. The project continues, and will include similar research into other minority groups, including the traveller community.”