Six new priests and four new deacons, serving in parishes across Dorset have been ordained by the Bishop of Salisbury.

They were ordained at Salisbury Cathedral last weekend along with clergy serving in Wiltshire.

They are part of a contingent of hundreds of new clergy being ordained across the Church of England this summer.

The Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, the Bishop of Sherborne, the Rt Revd Karen Gorham, and the Acting Dean of Salisbury, the Revd Canon Ed Probert, were all present at both services.

The Revd Karen Wilson, moved from Essex to become the new deacon in the Okeford Benefice, which covers five village churches in Blackmore Vale.

She said: “I have always felt God was calling me to rural ministry and service in farming communities.

“I’m looking forward to finding out what God has in store for me in such a new area, and learning about these five very different villages.

“There is lots of new housing in the area, and I’m especially looking forward to engaging with the many young families moving into the area.”

A new deacon coming back to his native county after training at Oxford is the Revd Darren Dalton. He is originally from Weymouth and has become the new deacon at St Andrew’s, Kinson, and St Philip’s, West Howe, in North Bournemouth.

He said: “I have a real passion for community and bringing the Church alongside public services like the police, Sure Start and the NHS to improve neighbourhoods and lives.

“At this time of great uncertainty in our country and around the world, it is a privilege to help people come together for the common good.

“I am also looking forward to seeing how God is going to use me in ministry with my spontaneous sense of humour and passion for my geeky hobbies. I am hoping, among other things, to see the church have a stall at the biggest comics convention in England!”

Here is a list of the priests ordained at Salisbury Cathedral on Saturday, June 30 by the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury:

Jean Audibert (Creekmoor)

Hilary Rowena Bond (The Lytchetts and Upton)

Kevin Martin (Shaftesbury Team)

Lewis Nicholas Pearson (Poole St James)

Neil Matthew John Robertson (Blandford Forum and Langton Long)

Ruth Mary Wells (West Moors)

Here is a list of the new deacons made at Salisbury Cathedral on Sunday, July 1 by the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, Bishop of Salisbury

Darren Dean Dalton (Kinson and West Howe)

Matt Thomas Lee (Wimborne St John)

Thomas John Pelham (Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks)

Karen Amanda Wilson (Okeford Benefice)