Leith Hill Benefice
Four Churches, One CommunityCovid-19 Support (5-Jul-20)
Whatever is true,whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.Philippians ch 4 v 8.
Paul writes this letter to the Philippians from prison, probably under house arrest in Rome. Yet it has been described as his happiest letter; in the previous chapter his direction to them has been to "rejoice in the Lord". His circumstances were far from ideal and yet he seeks to encourage the church at Philippi; Paul says that he has learnt the secret of being content in any situation because he knows that he can do everything through Him who gives him strength.
He encourages his readers to think about the positive things listed in the above verse..and yet the sense here is not just to "think about them" but more to let them shape their attitudes and then to translate such thinking into action.
As we look at our world and the things that concern us - whether they be the big things like Covid 19, Brexit, the US election, or things closer to home in our families, our churches, our work … perhaps we can take Paul's advice and allow the really good things that God has given us to focus our minds and spur us to action.
Lord as we look at our world we are aware of division and suffering; may we not lose sight of your goodness. May we allow that goodness to shape our attitudes and move us to action to bring relief and peace. Amen.
Mad Berry October 2020.
St James' is now open for private worhip on Wednesdays from 2pm to 5pm - look at the Diary here for formal services. You can see here some thoughts, prayers and sermons that would have been heard at Saint James' and other Benefice churches, including all the weekly thoughts that you see here.
Early in the 2020 coronavirus outbreak, the Abinger & Coldharbour Parish News was published electronically. It is now published physically and distributed within the parishes. Electronic versions are available here as a PDF version.
See the Covid-19 page for the latest on the impact of Covid-19 on the parish, and where to look for help (supplies, support, etc.).
Press Ctrl+F5 to refresh this page so you see the latest. See Site Map for all the information available on this site (parish registers, history, pictures, music etc.). Click on the address header to see a random page.
Four Churches, One CommunityCovid-19 Support (5-Jul-20)
As you will gather as you browse over these pages, we are a church with a long history and, as a community, Abinger goes back even further. Even if we take the Domesday Book as a start point, we have been a Christian worshipping community for a very long time. So, we are very proud of our church building. It has had a very chequered history, not least in the 20th Century. But now we are doing our best to meet the challenges of the 21st both for our building and church community.
Upcoming Services
in Abinger Common
Worship, praise, prayer and the reading of God's word are all part of our regular Sunday services, and if you are ever passing and would like to join us, we'd love to see you and make you feel welcome. But we don't believe that our church building any more than our faith, is just for Sundays. We are always looking for ways which enable the building to be a community resource during the week. We use the church for a Café morning on Wednesdays in term time from 8.30am until 10.00am. We also believe in developing our understanding of the Christian faith, so we meet in small groups to study what practical things the Bible has to say about living out the Christian faith in today's world.
Recent Letters
from the Rector
Again, if you would like to join us you are more than welcome; you should be able to find the dates somewhere on the website, failing that then do by all means get in touch. Thank you for visiting the website; I hope you find it helpful, informative and enjoyable, and we look forward to giving you more than a virtual welcome when you visit us for real!
Tony Berry, Rector
For more details of music in (sung) services, see the Services page.
If you have appropriate rights, click the +GoogleCalendar icon above to edit calendar entries. See Diary page for larger format.
For any information not shown in these pages, or to enquire about Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals, contact the Parish Office here.