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Shepherd of Another Flock: The Charming Tale of a New Vicar in a Yorkshire Country Town
Shh, new vicar might be listening . . .'
As the newly appointed Vicar of Helmsley, David was looking forward to working in this picturesque market town, set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Admittedly the vicarage, which dated back to the twelfth century, was extremely cold and damp. And not all of his parishioners were impressed by his new-fangled ways. But with the help of the irrepressible Father Bert, a retired cleric and one-time Tail End Charlie, David set about winning over the townsfolk.
There was Lord Feversham, the local landowner who at times bore an unnerving resemblance to Henry VIII; fiery Ted, a retired chef who had fought with the Polish Free Army; Frank the singing shepherd, still working as he approached eighty, and redoubtable countrywoman Eva. All had stories of hardship and sacrifice, friendship and love. Charming and moving, Shepherd of Another Flock is a must-read for fans of authors like Gervase Phinn, James Herriot and Amanda Owen.
As the newly appointed Vicar of Helmsley, David was looking forward to working in this picturesque market town, set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Admittedly the vicarage, which dated back to the twelfth century, was extremely cold and damp. And not all of his parishioners were impressed by his new-fangled ways. But with the help of the irrepressible Father Bert, a retired cleric and one-time Tail End Charlie, David set about winning over the townsfolk.
There was Lord Feversham, the local landowner who at times bore an unnerving resemblance to Henry VIII; fiery Ted, a retired chef who had fought with the Polish Free Army; Frank the singing shepherd, still working as he approached eighty, and redoubtable countrywoman Eva. All had stories of hardship and sacrifice, friendship and love. Charming and moving, Shepherd of Another Flock is a must-read for fans of authors like Gervase Phinn, James Herriot and Amanda Owen.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 28, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 21, 2018
I listened to the audiobook version of this story and I enjoyed every word.
When I first started listening I was not sure what to expect but after a few minutes I was so impressed that I now need to read more books from this author.
At one point I had tears streaming down my face because I could not stop laughing.
The story was also really interesting because there was mention of lots of places near to me that I have visited.
Very talented author and a very well written book. Highly recommended.
When I first started listening I was not sure what to expect but after a few minutes I was so impressed that I now need to read more books from this author.
At one point I had tears streaming down my face because I could not stop laughing.
The story was also really interesting because there was mention of lots of places near to me that I have visited.
Very talented author and a very well written book. Highly recommended.
August 25, 2024
There is nothing more cheerful than an Englishman or woman’s memoirs. No matter how difficult the subject matter they always make you feel good and turn it into wisdom. David Wilbourne, a Vicar in the Yorkshire country town, manages this beautifully. He does this with much humour and added history of the town, the local sites, and even personal accounts of parishioners stories past and more present which are fascinating and delightful.
July 20, 2023
Brilliantly funny & some great tales from Yorkshire
March 14, 2022
By nature, I’m drawn to the bucolic. It’s not that I’m naive to the hard realities of life, by any stretch. (Could any of us approaching middle age be otherwise?) It’s just that I find solace in reading about humanity’s better angels in spite of what we each suffer. Enter "Shepherd of Another Flock" by David Wilbourne.
This is a light-hearted, sincere memoir by Wilbourne, a vicar in the Church of England, and stories from his first year as the parish priest in Helmsley--a small town in the North York Moors region of northeastern Yorkshire.
Wilbourne spins a humble, witty, and interminably optimistic series of tales of the characters he encounters during his first year in his new assignment. His writing device is to pivot between his contemporary encounters and the memories they spark of his own childhood as the son of an English vicar--like father, like son. "My mind also went back thirty years to my boyhood days in Aughton, which, like East Moors, had seemed like the end of the earth."
The story unfolds with the help of his iconic bicycle, on which the vicar climbs and descends the hills and vales of the area to visit the various parishes under his stewardship, in all kinds of weather. His descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside are absorbing. "Our path meandered through the vicarage garden next door to the church. The ground fell sharply away beneath it, offering breathtaking views towards Rievaulx and the River Rye."
His anecdotes of the large and charming personalities he ministers to along the way are even better. The encounters are almost all inspiring, a few are even funny. I found myself totally charmed by Wilbourne’s anecdotes about the struggles and triumphs of his parishioners--real people, real personalities, in real and relatable situations. His style as the shepherd of this flock is both humane and human, and he looks for and describes the best in each of them—even when it seems hard to do.
Perhaps the resonance of this book for me comes from the roles I have had as a lay minister in my own church all of my adult life. Recently, I've been given the responsibility to minister more deliberately to more members of my "parish" congregation in my community here in the western U.S., and so I found Wilbourne’s commitment to visiting with his parishioners to be worthy of emulation. "From my first days in ministry...my Vicar had made it clear that visiting folk was the whole point of ministry, with everything else a distraction...I enjoy hearing people's stories, and many times their hard-won faith and the way they put it into practice shames mine."
I have found great joy in meeting people where they are in their lives and doing my best to let them know that they are loved and that they are not alone—even when they are going through hard times and the right words of comfort seem hard to find. "I didn't know what to say either, but I knew I had to be there. So after evensong one September Sunday night I detoured via their home, sat with them, listened to them, held them in their grief." Perhaps just mourning with those that mourn is enough. "Despite the lateness of the hour, I decided I could put my visit off no longer. I had no magic wand to make things better, I just wanted to be with them." I was inspired by Wilbourne's efforts to do this.
I found some interesting insights and parallels between the Church of England and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have reinforced my feeling that we Christians are not too different from one another, wherever we are from and however we worship.
This book is a heart-warming read for those who think about faith in action and what it means to minister and serve our neighbors and community. It's also worthwhile for those who love learning about off-the-grid places--rural England in this case, and the quirks and personalities of those who inhabit this corner of the world.
---
Here are a few favorite snippets from Wilbourne...
He talked about a mentor priest of his, John Habgood, "realizing the high price that priests paid as they walked with those in deep darkness and sorrow, trying to be Christ to the world and see Christ in the world."
When he was a kid..."a visit from a man called Green -- the last surviving member of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917. This Ancient of Days, well into his eighties, decked in a moth-eaten woolly jumper which spelt strongly of fish, showed us his glass slides on his magic lantern: their ship the Endurance crushed by pack ice and sinking; the bleak Polar landscape where they sheltered beneath upturned lifeboats for five months...the inhospitable cliffs of South Georgia...But more than those pictures, I recall his haunting tale of how every time they did a head count, they always felt there was one more member in addition to the crew of twenty-nine. I guess it primed me for a lifetime feeling there was an extra person walking beside me."
On the annual "donation day" for his parish: "I had written to over 1,500 homes to introduce myself and invite people to bring their gift and have a chat." (Tithing settlement)
"Alan had also tipped me off that many parishioners sneak into the park when his Lordship isn't looking and throw the ashes of their nearest and dearest into these waters, a Yorkshire Ganges. I was rather taken with this modern-day Viking funeral, where the deceased's voyage bisects Yorkshire; they would join the Derwent above Kirkham Priory, the home of the Augustinian monks who had founded Helmsley Church and built our vicarage, before their ashes would wend their way through the fecund meadowlands of the Vale of York..."
"I've never slept well before celebrating Mass," (Father Bert) confided. "Well, Father, if you think of what we're doing, who could sleep?"
"I listened respectfully to all their many tales, realizing the time for telling them was rapidly running out. It was my privilege to listen beside them for what remained of their day."
"...like David, my biblical namesake, the Goliaths of this world have never impressed me that much."
"Some people suffer very little loss, but have a miserable mindset."
Aren't these "five points" Wilbourne proposed to his Church Council needed everywhere?
1. We should be producing excellent, moving, converting worship, match-fit for 1997 rather than 1897, which will make anybody dropping in feel it's really good to be here.
2. We should be sensitive to our community's hurting points and stand alongside people who are going through their personal Good Friday.
3. We should be aiming to transform and heal those hurting points, moving people on from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
4. We should be making disciples, encouraging people to fish for Christ.
5. As a church we should have a care for each other, and make sure we are a forgiving, loving and accepting community, so that when people say, 'See how these Christians love one another', they really mean it and aren't being ironic.
"Eternal Father strong to save,
whose arm doth bind the restless wave...
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea."
"Wherever there is pain, there is Christ." -an Irish woman, passing through Helmsley
This is a light-hearted, sincere memoir by Wilbourne, a vicar in the Church of England, and stories from his first year as the parish priest in Helmsley--a small town in the North York Moors region of northeastern Yorkshire.
Wilbourne spins a humble, witty, and interminably optimistic series of tales of the characters he encounters during his first year in his new assignment. His writing device is to pivot between his contemporary encounters and the memories they spark of his own childhood as the son of an English vicar--like father, like son. "My mind also went back thirty years to my boyhood days in Aughton, which, like East Moors, had seemed like the end of the earth."
The story unfolds with the help of his iconic bicycle, on which the vicar climbs and descends the hills and vales of the area to visit the various parishes under his stewardship, in all kinds of weather. His descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside are absorbing. "Our path meandered through the vicarage garden next door to the church. The ground fell sharply away beneath it, offering breathtaking views towards Rievaulx and the River Rye."
His anecdotes of the large and charming personalities he ministers to along the way are even better. The encounters are almost all inspiring, a few are even funny. I found myself totally charmed by Wilbourne’s anecdotes about the struggles and triumphs of his parishioners--real people, real personalities, in real and relatable situations. His style as the shepherd of this flock is both humane and human, and he looks for and describes the best in each of them—even when it seems hard to do.
Perhaps the resonance of this book for me comes from the roles I have had as a lay minister in my own church all of my adult life. Recently, I've been given the responsibility to minister more deliberately to more members of my "parish" congregation in my community here in the western U.S., and so I found Wilbourne’s commitment to visiting with his parishioners to be worthy of emulation. "From my first days in ministry...my Vicar had made it clear that visiting folk was the whole point of ministry, with everything else a distraction...I enjoy hearing people's stories, and many times their hard-won faith and the way they put it into practice shames mine."
I have found great joy in meeting people where they are in their lives and doing my best to let them know that they are loved and that they are not alone—even when they are going through hard times and the right words of comfort seem hard to find. "I didn't know what to say either, but I knew I had to be there. So after evensong one September Sunday night I detoured via their home, sat with them, listened to them, held them in their grief." Perhaps just mourning with those that mourn is enough. "Despite the lateness of the hour, I decided I could put my visit off no longer. I had no magic wand to make things better, I just wanted to be with them." I was inspired by Wilbourne's efforts to do this.
I found some interesting insights and parallels between the Church of England and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have reinforced my feeling that we Christians are not too different from one another, wherever we are from and however we worship.
This book is a heart-warming read for those who think about faith in action and what it means to minister and serve our neighbors and community. It's also worthwhile for those who love learning about off-the-grid places--rural England in this case, and the quirks and personalities of those who inhabit this corner of the world.
---
Here are a few favorite snippets from Wilbourne...
He talked about a mentor priest of his, John Habgood, "realizing the high price that priests paid as they walked with those in deep darkness and sorrow, trying to be Christ to the world and see Christ in the world."
When he was a kid..."a visit from a man called Green -- the last surviving member of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1917. This Ancient of Days, well into his eighties, decked in a moth-eaten woolly jumper which spelt strongly of fish, showed us his glass slides on his magic lantern: their ship the Endurance crushed by pack ice and sinking; the bleak Polar landscape where they sheltered beneath upturned lifeboats for five months...the inhospitable cliffs of South Georgia...But more than those pictures, I recall his haunting tale of how every time they did a head count, they always felt there was one more member in addition to the crew of twenty-nine. I guess it primed me for a lifetime feeling there was an extra person walking beside me."
On the annual "donation day" for his parish: "I had written to over 1,500 homes to introduce myself and invite people to bring their gift and have a chat." (Tithing settlement)
"Alan had also tipped me off that many parishioners sneak into the park when his Lordship isn't looking and throw the ashes of their nearest and dearest into these waters, a Yorkshire Ganges. I was rather taken with this modern-day Viking funeral, where the deceased's voyage bisects Yorkshire; they would join the Derwent above Kirkham Priory, the home of the Augustinian monks who had founded Helmsley Church and built our vicarage, before their ashes would wend their way through the fecund meadowlands of the Vale of York..."
"I've never slept well before celebrating Mass," (Father Bert) confided. "Well, Father, if you think of what we're doing, who could sleep?"
"I listened respectfully to all their many tales, realizing the time for telling them was rapidly running out. It was my privilege to listen beside them for what remained of their day."
"...like David, my biblical namesake, the Goliaths of this world have never impressed me that much."
"Some people suffer very little loss, but have a miserable mindset."
Aren't these "five points" Wilbourne proposed to his Church Council needed everywhere?
1. We should be producing excellent, moving, converting worship, match-fit for 1997 rather than 1897, which will make anybody dropping in feel it's really good to be here.
2. We should be sensitive to our community's hurting points and stand alongside people who are going through their personal Good Friday.
3. We should be aiming to transform and heal those hurting points, moving people on from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
4. We should be making disciples, encouraging people to fish for Christ.
5. As a church we should have a care for each other, and make sure we are a forgiving, loving and accepting community, so that when people say, 'See how these Christians love one another', they really mean it and aren't being ironic.
"Eternal Father strong to save,
whose arm doth bind the restless wave...
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea."
"Wherever there is pain, there is Christ." -an Irish woman, passing through Helmsley
September 23, 2020
A delightfully amusing book written in a 'James Herriot' style. We were visiting and touring around the area and this book made it all the more interesting. A friend had commented on the book that it was rather, twee and old fashioned as if written in a different era, but as our daughter is a church architect for North Yorkshire, and attends parish meetings, she did confirm that it is still the same and she loves it!
March 24, 2024
2.5 - 3 stars for the audiobook.
Ruth's review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3396479777 covers much of what I wanted to say.
Extra: some of the stories use bawdy humour.
I personally didn't find the risky 'jokes' centred around Christ funny - it felt sacrilegious to me: your mileage may vary.
Ruth's review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3396479777 covers much of what I wanted to say.
Extra: some of the stories use bawdy humour.
I personally didn't find the risky 'jokes' centred around Christ funny - it felt sacrilegious to me: your mileage may vary.
May 30, 2025
Enjoyable insight into the life of a vicar and the life of Helmsley.
I celebrated my half century in a thatched cottage in Rievaulx attending the Easter celebration in the small church mentioned in the book. The service was spoilt for me by a couple of immature public schoolboys and their equally immature public schoolboy father sniggering their way through the service.......yawn.
I celebrated my half century in a thatched cottage in Rievaulx attending the Easter celebration in the small church mentioned in the book. The service was spoilt for me by a couple of immature public schoolboys and their equally immature public schoolboy father sniggering their way through the service.......yawn.
June 24, 2019
Lovely gentle read. The sense of place and “characters” is entertaining. Softly deals with some deep issues. My only grip is that every old person seems to have to mention WWII. What? They have no other memories?
August 2, 2024
Warm and cosy
A tale that takes you to the heart of a close community. David shows his passion for preisthood and the area and its peole, local characters. I really felt submerged in the experiences which were pleasant and warm.
A tale that takes you to the heart of a close community. David shows his passion for preisthood and the area and its peole, local characters. I really felt submerged in the experiences which were pleasant and warm.
December 27, 2020
A lovely read 🙂
January 7, 2022
Gentle whimsy, telling stories of the vicar of Helmsley in Yorkshire.
February 22, 2022
A humorous and often touching account of the life of a Vicar in rural Yorkshire. I really enjoyed this book, which put me in mind of the writings of Gervase Phinn and James Herriot.
Would highly recommend.
Would highly recommend.
August 23, 2019
If there was ever a book to rekindle my lurking-in-the-background faith in structured religion - this would be one. I loved it and the writer’s love of people, his faith, the countryside and cycling shines through. I didn’t expect much after reading the synopsis but I really enjoyed it and some really captivating facts are thrown in to boot. Definitely recommended to the normal crew.
June 30, 2020
Thought when I started it would be light fluff. But quite moving in places, if some of the conversations and incidents seemed rather contrived to fit in the history bits, which were less interesting with the interactions with people.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews