ST MARY'S CHURCH IS OPEN
The church is open every day for
private prayer and reflection.
GOOD FRIDAY, 2pm - Stations of the Cross: reflections, readings and music and online HERE.
EASTER DAY,10am: Easter Communion, followed by the children's Easter egg hunt.
Please read the CV19 Risk Assessment and Mitigations for St Mary's Church HERE
A message from Revd David Grundy,
Associate Minister
Dear Friends,
A warm welcome to this website, whether you’re here for the first time or visit regularly. We’re delighted that you’ve found us.
Many churches are closed for worship at the moment, and whilst we are open every day for private prayer and on Sundays at 10am for worship, many people still prefer to access the online service which we post each week, which is a complete service with hymns, a sermon, readings, a blessing, an introduction and prayers. The website is also designed to give you an idea of other aspects of the church’s life such as Eco Church, Prayer and Meditation (Christian Mindfulness sessions), Spiritual Refreshment, and there is also a Community Noticeboard, with online access to the Parish News magazine.
Above all, we hope that in these pages you find something of Jesus himself, the centre of our faith, and the one who longs for us to be in relationship with him, and who welcomes us with open arms. Please get in touch, if you’d like, whether it is to find out more, to ask for prayer or simply to introduce yourself.
And in the meantime, we hope you stay safe and well, and enjoy the website.
With very best wishes,
David
tel. 01306 731142
REFLECTION
by David
Thomas said to him “My Lord and my God !” John 20: 28
Just before the Good Friday service, I got chatting with a couple from the Ukraine. They said that the situation in the Ukraine is still one of conflict and violence, even though the media attention it was receiving years ago has all but vanished. The message isn’t reaching us now, but the reality is the same as it was.
In this country, those under 50 are far less likely to be professed, regularly worshipping Christians than those of us the other side of 50. Many reasons are given, and many ways forward for the church are proposed. But maybe the main reason is simply that the burning conviction of Thomas is not always apparent in the church today. He was understandably sceptical when he heard people say that Jesus was alive again. But that scepticism turned to wonder - “My Lord and my God !” - as he came face to face with Jesus. It’s quite possible that, as tradition has it, he went to India to share what he had become so passionately convinced of.
The truth of Christ’s life, death and resurrection remains the same as it was. The surrounding culture of Jesus’ time was less than conducive to receiving the Christian message. But many did receive it. The existence of the worldwide church today is the result.
By both word and deed, let us sensitively, thoughtfully, creatively and passionately, hand the baton on in our own culture.
Prayer:
Our Lord and our God, deepen and strengthen our faith in you, that we may be instruments of helping others to discover your loving, transforming, living presence. Amen.
“God is light; In him there is no darkness...”
[1 John 1:5]
St Mary's, the parish church of Holmbury St Mary, is a beautiful place to seek & know God.
Holmbury church is not, though, just a building; it is a community of worshippers who are here to serve each other, the Holmbury parish and the world beyond in witness to the Christian faith.
St Mary's offers friendship, fellowship and support throughout the village and further afield, not just for those who come to services but for everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation and belief.
If you would like to find out more or speak to someone in confidence, please contact
Revd. David Grundy on 01306 731142 or at
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“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.”
[Matthew 7:7]
