Called to Explore the Rural
Ministry Explorer Adam Bullivant has been based at Hilfield Friary in Dorset, ahead of further parish experience in Parkstone, Poole.
Adam joined the Church of England’s Ministry Experience Scheme and was placed at St Peter’s Parkstone in Poole. He has also spent time in a rural placement at Hilfield, the Franciscan Friary where he began to sense that ministry was for him.
Living in community, in a familiar rural setting, has had a lasting impact. New clarity is coming.
Adam says, “I feel God is calling me. I was very lucky to be here and work here, and be a part of the prayers, but I felt that I needed a bit more experience.
“I found this scheme through this diocese that was able to give me a bit of an urban setting, so I went to St Peter’s Parkstone in Poole, where I did a placement for a year.
“Being here at Hilfield has taught me a lot about how to look after our land and our world around us. I think it’s very important for us to look at the way we’re living, and - being in an urban setting - we don’t really think about the environment much. We don’t think about how much paper we’re using in a church, or how much waste we’re making.
“When you’re in a rural setting, and a place like Hilfield especially, you understand more about how to look after the beautifulness around you, and to care for it, and to try and do as much as you can – to give back to the environment and to help it to grow.
“From being here at Hilfield, I can go back to my parish church and look at how we can be more environment-friendly, more ‘eco’, and try and take a little bit of what St Francis wants us to look after - our Mother Earth - and do it in our urban setting, where it’s very different.”
Interested in finding out more about rural ministry? ‘Renewing Hope through Rural Ministry and Mission’ is our diocesan programme supported by national church funding.
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