The Church Of The Holy Rood -- Wool, Dorset, U.K.

Welcome to Holy Rood! - part of the West Purbeck Benefice

This website (www.holyroodwool.org) has details about the Church of Holy Rood, Wool, Dorset. (Wool is situated between Wareham and Dorchester, in the county of Dorset, UK.)

Holy Rood is the parish church of Wool and East Stoke incorporating Coombe Keynes, Bovington and East Burton. We're part of the Church of England in the Diocese of Salisbury, within the worldwide Anglican community.

New Benefice Service Pattern from May 2019

Inaugural Service for the new Benefice of West Purbeck

Wed 13th March 2019

Holy Rood was full, for the service to inaugurate and celebrate our new benefice which came into being on March 1st. Many people attended from the West Purbeck Benefice churches - Holy Rood, Bere Regis, and Affpuddle - as well as visitors from the adjacent Benefice of The Lulworths, Winfrith Newburgh and Chaldon. Our Archdeacon, Ven. Antony MacRow-Wood, Archdeacon of Dorset, was also present.

At this service, our vicar, Revd Carol Langford, was given her new Licence, as the first Rector and Incumbent of the new Benefice of West Purbeck, by the Bishop of Sherborne, the Right Revd Karen Gorham.

At the same time, Revd Jenny Alidina was Licensed to the new benefice as an Associate Priest.

Other Churches in the Benefice

As well as Holy Rood, Wool (with the former parishes of East Stoke East Burton, and Coombe Keynes) - http://www.holyroodwool.org/ (You are here!) -

The Benefice of West Purbeck also includes:

St John the Baptist, Bere Regis - http://www.bereregiswithaffpuddle.org.uk/bere-regis

St Laurence, Affpuddle - http://www.bereregiswithaffpuddle.org.uk/affpuddle

Services at Holy Rood, Wool

An 8am Service of Holy Communion and 10am Parish Communion or Family Worship is held in our church almost every Sunday.

For our regular service pattern see the Services page.

For the occasional exceptions, and more services details, first check the News Page.

News and information on recent and coming events

See the News Page and "Church Without Walls"*.

General information about other local events in and around Wool, can also be found in Wool Dates.

The links on the far left top give access to the main sections of our website.

*We do not have a traditional Parish Magazine, but do take a look at "Church Without Walls" - a free quarterly colour publication, available in church in printed form. The current edition is reproduced at this link.

You can take a look at some of Holy Rood's history, with pictures of the church interior. Outside and in, we have a lot of help from our enthusiastic and highly skilled Churchyard team.

The church is a vital part of the life of the community and we aim to be a friendly and welcoming church.

We look forward to meeting you . . .

More about Holy Rood . . .

We describe ourselves as 'middle of the road' welcoming of all.

Our vision is to be a church without walls and our aims are that: -

• We long to see God grow His church in Wool and to help increasing numbers of people to come to faith in Him.

• We want to deepen our own relationship with God based on sound preaching and biblical teaching.

• We want to reach out to all ages across the community.

• We seek to have a visible presence in the parish outside our church based activities, showing God's relevance to every aspect of our lives.

To write to the church or to the vicar, use this address: Wool Vicarage, Vicarage Close, Wool, Wareham, Dorset BH2O 6EB

Pastoral Care - Where to find help when you need it

Each of us has times in life when we need help. These may be a result of a bereavement, illness, or any of life's unexpected changes. It may be for a simple, one-off opportunity to talk things over; or it may be for someone to visit regularly.

Whatever your need, we want to be able to help you. In this parish, we have a team of people who have gifts in pastoral care. If you would like someone to visit you, please contact the Vicar, Revd Carol Langford (Wool Vicarage, Vicarage Close, Wool, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 6EB) Tel: 01929 462215.

Home Groups

You will find at the heart of the church small groups - people meeting together for encouragement, worship, prayer, Bible Study, fun and food! Whether within groups or not we try to support and encourage one another, but within the church the home groups offer a special place of belonging and a means of getting involved in the life of the church.

The "Groups" page gives current details.

Tea Pot Club

(See separate page here.) Meets on alternate Tuesdays at 2.00pm

Contact: Gren Irwin on 462742, or Pauline Matthews on 462128.

Note that the local dialling code (where not otherwise stated) is 01929

Email addresses:

See under "Contacts"

Clergy and Who's Who

See the "who's Who" page