‘Serving the local residents is a privilege’
Reverend Canon Dana Delap, 56, lives in Blockley, Gloucestershire, with her husband Adrian, 58. After being ordained in 2014, I started work in Newcastle upon Tyne.
But it was in 2015, when I moved to Blockley, serving the village and nearby Bourton-on-the-Hill, that I found my feet.
For rural communities to thrive, people need to be connected and interdependent. I’ve made it my mission to ensure that nobody falls through the
net – I’m constantly out and about, working with the churches, the local schools and spending afternoons in the community cafe. By now, I must have met every local resident.
Over the years, I’ve been instrumental in various projects, from rewilding churchyards to helping at the local food bank; from setting up music groups to throwing an annual barbecue for locals.
What really makes my heart sing is when I start something, then someone else takes the reins and I can move on to the next community need.
When lockdown hit in
2020, bus services stopped, and I was worried that those stuck at home, or people who lived far from family, might be afraid or isolated. Together with volunteers, we leafleted every house with my mobile number so they could reach out.
Plus, with groceries hard to acquire, the food bank and local store were overrun. To help, the church formed a partnership with the parish council and local store. We created a voucher scheme for those who couldn’t travel, with volunteers helping to collect and deliver vital supplies. Local residents had the lifeline they needed.
We now seem to be out of the worst of the pandemic, but it may take years to process our collective trauma. People need support and kindness more than ever, and I’m always working on something new to help.
As a busy vicar, it’s hard to find a second to stop and smell the roses. But there was a wonderful moment at last year’s summer barbecue in August. So many people – elderly residents, babies and children, those in wheelchairs, passing walkers – came together.
I looked around and thought, ‘This is what community means.’ It’s an incredible privilege to work here and it’s the best job in the world.
‘People need support and kindness more than ever’