Page 3 - Bere Regis November 2023

November 2023 November 2023

THE PARISHES of BERE REGIS and AFFPUDDLE

with TURNERSPUDDLE

Our Our Mission:
Vision: To encourage awareness of the
To make presence of God through worship
Christ’s music and the arts;
love To encourage everyone in the
known in Christian faith through example,
the world learning and spiritual growth;
today and To make our churches open and
to live out welcoming to all, and supportive
his of those in need;
teaching
To challenge injustice at home and
abroad and to balance our care
for the environment.

LETTER FROM OUR ASSOCIATE PRIEST

All families have traits. Some of these are biological. At the very least, families
share common DNA that links them together. Most often there are other, more
visible traits: a similar build, perhaps, or similar features, a particular ‘look’.
Extending beyond those who are biologically related, people who join a family
perhaps through adoption, or relationships, also develop similar traits: a shared
mindset, a family joke, patterns of behaviour. However diverse we might be, there
are elements that we have in common.

When I think back to when our three children were born, they were all so similar
and looked just like their father! You do all that work… You’d still know they were
related, but they don’t look so similar now and maybe they look a bit like me in
some ways. When each of the grandchildren were born we’ve looked and
commented on who they look like, have they got their mum or dad’s eyes etc.
But however much we are alike or share common traits, we are also all unique.
Look at your thumb. What do you see? Sir Isaac Newton said, ‘In the absence of
any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.’ Could
it be a ‘mark of the maker’, a reminder that we carry the imprint of God? Our
thumbs are part of the wonder of who we are and our uniqueness. We use our
thumbs for many things; some things would not be possible, or very difficult,

78 3