THE FIRST female Bishop of Dorset will tell all about her first year in post and the responsibilities that come with it.

The Bishop of Sherborne, the Right Reverend Karen Gorham, will join the Chaplain of Bournemouth University Dr Bill Merrington for a journey through her life expressed through music and literature.

In a series of talks inspired by the long running radio favourite Desert Island Discs, Dr Merrington will get to grips with Rev Gorham and her role in the ministry.

Bishop Gorham said: "This is the first formal visit I have made to the university which falls in the area I am responsible for. Dorset is really varied, from urban areas of Bournemouth and Poole to the north of the parish and all the way down to Devon, the Golden Gap and Lyme.

"Part of my role is to make people feel part of something bigger than themselves and helping them feel connected to the wider church."

Bishop Gorham will speak about her career to date and the responsibilities of being a women in a predominantly male occupation.

She said: "In some ways when you are the first, people look to you and think how you are going to be different, the thing is all the role models for me have always been male. Finding a way to be yourself in the role and doing the job as it has always been done is the challenge."

For the Bishop, selecting the artistic pieces that have influenced her most has been a challenged in itself.

"I’m not going to give it away but the early 80s music was quite key to me and there is also a piece of Christian music as I think words in songs are important. I have also travelled around quite a lot hence one of the books I have chosen."

Session takes place 12.30pm until 2pm in the Student Hall, Bournemouth University, on Thursday, March 2. For enquires call 01202 965383.