We are delighted to anounce that the Revd Clare Dean will be joining us in October. But while we are still in vacancy please contact the Church Warden (Who’s Who) or use the Contact Us page to get in touch, thank you.

Stour Vale Benefice takes its responsibilities surrounding the safeguarding of children, young people, and adults who may be at risk very seriously, and works in partnership with the Diocese of Salisbury to ensure that we work in accordance with best practice at all times.

Please click here to see our Benefice Safeguarding Policy

If you have any Safeguarding questions or concerns you can contact our Benefice Safeguarding Officer,  Jeremy Stanford         07766 071538

Alternatively you can contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser, Suzy Futcher (Mon – Thurs) 07500 664800 – suzy.futcher@salisbury.anglican.org or Jem Carter (Tues – Fri) 07469857888 – jem.carter@salisbury.anglican.org

 

 

Welcome to the webpages for Christ Church, East Stour, the Parish Church for this Dorset village. Local or visitor, we hope you will find the infomation you seek here.

We are a friendly bunch and working hard to make our church a welcoming and relevant place to worship. We have both the older traditional services as well as more modern worship.

Children are of course always welcome and they are not expected to sit still and not make a sound. They are allowed to be children! A carpeted area with toys, books, etc. can be used at any time during or after the service.

Christ Church is one of a group of eight Anglican churches (called the Benefice of Stour Vale) listed in the menu above.

We have services on three Sundays of each month, with additional ones during festivals (Christmas, Easter, etc.). All are welcome at our services – regardless of whether you are a regular church-goer, committed Christian or enquirer. And although Christ Church is a Church of England church, you don’t have to be an Anglican  to worship with us.

There’s also a said Eucharist every Thursday at 10.15 am (followed by coffee).

Life events

As East Stour Parish Church we are here to serve all those who live in the parish and may be able to help others with connections to the village too. If you are looking to arrange a baptism or wedding, or if you are interested in being confirmed, please contact the Benefice Administrator who will be happy to provide the information you need.

Funerals are usually arranged by the Funeral Director but we do have more information about church funerals here to help you think about what you would like.

Visiting us

The “where we are” page shows the location of our church on a map, and also information for use with maps / GPS, though we are easy to find as we are on the south side of the A30 next to the crossroads with the B3092. There is a parking area in front of the church (alongside the A30).

Christ Church,
East Stour,
Dorset,
SP8 5LP.

Benefice centre

A few years ago East Stour Church was altered to provide a kitchen, a toilet for the disabled, and a room which can be a children’s area or be used as a small meeting room; it also has an audio system for the hard of hearing. This church is used for Joint PCC meetings throughout the year, and has become known as the Benefice Centre, it being the only church to have all the facilities needed for a public meeting hall, and it has the bonus of being in the geographical centre of our Benefice, with car parking.

Christ Church building

It is wonderful to be able to worship where God has been praised since Saxon times, and in a building with beautiful stained glass to inspire us, and a Norman font to remind us of former generations.

However, an old building also brings a not-insignificant task of maintenance, and we are constantly having to raise money. If you would like to make a donation please contact our treasurer.

You can read more about the building on our history page. If your ancestors came from here this page may help you (n.b. we don’t hold old parish registers in the church – they are in the Dorset History Centre).