ST MARY'S CHURCH IS OPEN
The church is open every day for private prayer and reflection.
Join us at St Mary's at 10.00 am or online HERE for our service of worship for 17 January, exploring God's calling.
Please read the CV19 Risk Assessment and Mitigations for
St Mary's Church HERE
REFLECTION
by Martha
Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139:11-12
In New England, where I come from, we call this time of year "the long drag". The trees are bare, the days are cold and bleak, and the nights long and dark. Spring, with its promise of new life seems a long way away. It is hard at this time of year to feel energetic or optimistic.
It’s the darkness that we find particularly depressing. Christians tend to associate darkness with sin, blindness and fear. We long for Christ, the light of the world to come into our lives and dispel the darkness in our hearts and our lives. It’s hard to feel close to God when you can’t see where you are going, or what that noise in the distance means, or who might be approaching you.
At first glance, scripture has little good to say about darkness. But a closer look shows that some of God’s most important work occurs at night. When Abraham despaired of ever having offspring, God led him outside and told him to count the stars saying, “So shall your descendants be”. Were it not for the night, we would never see the beauty of the stars. Joseph dreamt of a ladder from earth to heaven at night. And the two most important events in the Christian calendar, the birth of our Saviour and his resurrection both
I find that some of my best thoughts come at night or just before dawn, when there is little else to distract me. If you ever wake up in the middle of the night, try lying in the dark, listening for God. You may discover states of consciousness you have never experienced before. As the psalmist has said, “Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge” (19:2).
God our Father, we know you are with us at all times of the day and the night. Help us to open our hearts and minds to your presence that we may hear and respond to your message of love, healing and hope. Amen
A message from Revd David Grundy, Associate Minister
Dear Friends,
A warm welcome to Holmbury church’s website. This year has been a year of considerable hardship for so many of us, and we are determined as a church to be here, and to be available to people both online but also in our church building. Our aim is to maintain worship in church, with a total commitment to safety guidelines, but also to care for individual people via email and phone.
After a year where the world seems to have changed so much – and we know this is not over yet – this Christmas we reflect that it was also at a very turbulent point in history that Christ came, and that He remains among us now, unchanging and ever-present. And unfailingly loving.
Wishing you safety and peace over this Christmas period, and hope as you enter 2021.
God bless,
David
“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]
