Welcome to the website of the Christchurch and Wimborne Methodist Circuit.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT ADVICE, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE METHODIST CHURCH IN BRITAIN, ALL WORSHIP AND ACTIVITIES ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

THERE ARE SOME SERVICES BY OUR PREACHERS ACROSS THE CIRCUIT WHICH HAVE BEEN UPLOADED ONTO THE WEBSITE. LOOK FOR THEM ON THE RIGHT HAND PANEL OF THE HOME PAGE UNDER NEWS STORIES

MESSAGE FROM PAULINE 24 MARCH 2020

Dear Circuit,
It would be an understatement to say we are living in a strange period.
As we see and hear on a daily bases these are extraordinary times and we have not seen anything quite like this in any of our lifetimes.
As you will all know by now we cannot meet for worship and indeed our church premises and all our church activities are closed for the foreseeable future.
This letter comes firstly with my thoughts and prayers for you all and particularly for those of you with worries for yourself or others at this time. Many of you will have already found information about worship opportunities that are offered on websites and the information that The Methodist Church has been posting. I and indeed the rest of the Circuit Leadership team are encouraging you and holding the Circuit in prayer, to keep your faith and trust in God and to encourage you all during these difficult times.
We have seen many acts of selfishness during the past few weeks. People panic buying, with no regard for others. Nevertheless, there are many ongoing acts of kindness too; pastoral care for friends, family and neighbours.
If you are in pastoral need of any kind please contact your Minister or pastoral visitor direct by email or phone.

• Lord God, we remember your presence with us and offer ourselves to you in Faith, Hope and Love.

• We believe in your power, both to heal and to save; we pray that your will may be done, in us and through us.

• We hope in your promises; we pray that we may be made worthy of them.

• We pray for all those needing to carry on working for the good of others.

• We pray for ourselves, for one another and for all humankind, that we may serve you faithfully and in all things seek your glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Every Blessing,
Pauline

19 March 2020
Dear Friends,
There is a piece of advice we will all have received many times as children: "Look both ways." I refer, of course, to learning to cross the road and to the guidance of the Kerb Drill: "Look right, look left, look right again."

In a sense, this Coronavirus outbreak invites us to do something very similar, only this time we are called to look not left and right but to the past to see how mistakes can be improved, the future to see how we might do things better and look to the difference that makes to the present. As St Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians, our sharing in the Lord's Supper is to serve as a continuous reminder to all Christians everywhere, it calls to mind Christ's suffering and death. It courses us to view the past, the present and the future. Yet it was not all solemnity, for there is also a message of hope; an indication of joy to come in Jesus' words. He said, 'I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of God.' Here, then, is a call to look backwards and forwards, to recollect and to anticipate. It is a message not just for the present crisis, nor merely for each time we break bread and share wine, but for each day and every moment. We are called to live, here and now, in the light of what God has done and what he promises to do; the assurances for all time, to all people.

This year, it seems that we will be celebrating Easter a little differently. In other years it has always concerned me when many people want to travel straight from the heights and festivities of Palm Sunday to the joy of Easter Day, and who can blame them? We are called however, to journey to the pain of the cross first on Good Friday, the silence and despondency of Easter Saturday. These are the in-between days. This way we can appreciate more fully the victory of the resurrection. We are in the in-between days now. Some are self-isolating. Some are having to carefully carry on. Some have plans that need to be put on hold. But just like the in-between days of Easter God is with us and we will reach the joy of Easter Day.

Let us take the opportunity to be a part of this journey. Whether we are at home or able to go out we can still be a people of prayer.
Every blessing.
Pauline

Who are we? We are made up of:

• 15 churches running from Blandford in the west to Brockenhurst in the east
• large, medium and small churches, all of whom are passionate about our purpose and vision
• congregations who want to be disciples of Jesus Christ whoever we are and wherever we are
• people who want to be together for worship, conversation and learning
• people who want to welcome others

What else matters to us?

Life outside the church! You'll find us, for example.....

• in schools,
• in residential homes,
• in youth centres,
• in Wimborne square in the early hours of Saturday morning
• wherever Methodists work and live, shop and swim.

The circuit's heartbeat is people across our churches whose lives have taken on board God's love, compassion, forgiveness and welcome of all and who want to try and live the ways of Jesus Christ. Supporting this vast army of people are 6 lay workers and 5 ministers.

Enjoy reading more about us on this website, and please get in touch if you want to know more.

The current CIRCUIT PLAN is always on this website but can be difficult to find if a lot of other documents have been posted on the site. Look first under the list of Latest Docs on the right hand side of this page, but if the Plan is not listed, go to the very bottom of this page and you will find a black button labelled Publications. Clicking on this will bring you the full list of documents available including the current Circuit Plan.

To view our Mission Statement please follow this link: Mission

To view our Privacy Policy please follow this link: Privacy

To read about our Retreat Centre please follow this link: Retreat Centre