Leith Hill Benefice
Four Churches, One CommunityCovid-19 Support
Sunday 31st May 2020, Pentecost: Virtual service from St James' (Zoom). Tony Berry's latest YouTube reflection 30th May 2020
I will ask the father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.John 14.16
As Jesus prepared to face His death, He promised the disciples that he would send the Spirit to them, to live with and within them. The final sentence of Matthew's gospel holds the same promise; as Jesus returned to heaven, He says that He will be with them always, to the very end of the age.
When we think of God, we perhaps can grasp the idea of a heavenly father, and Jesus as saviour. However when it comes to thinking about the Spirit we are sometimes less sure how to describe the presence and the experience of this dimension of God. At the very beginning of his gospel Matthew quotes a prophecy from Isaiah "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel-which means God with us"
The story seems to begin and end with the promise that God will be with us. His presence with us comes in the person of the Holy Spirit. If we feel that is a bit 'scary' or out of our "comfort zone"! we can find reassurance in Jesus' words that His Father gives good gifts to His children, and "how much more will he give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." Luke 11.13.
We are celebrating Pentecost in a very different way this year, with only technology to help us connect. Pentecost is a celebration of the coming of the Spirit as we read in Acts ch 2, and marks the birth of the early church. A church that began in the power of the Spirit, changing and transforming lives in dramatic ways.
As we celebrate Pentecost in such a different way this year, let's rejoice in the Father's gift of the Spirit, being reassured that this is a good gift from a good Father. Let's be amazed that the creator of our world has promised to be with us always and let's resolve to experience more of this 'God with us' presence every day.
Lord Jesus - we are amazed that you have promised to always be with us by your Spirit. May we be aware of your loving presence at this time of Pentecost and beyond.
Mad Berry, 28th May 2020
As churches are now closed for communal worship, you can see here some thoughts, prayers and sermons that would have been heard at Saint James' and other Benefice churches.
During the 2020 coronavirus outbreak, the Abinger & Coldharbour Parish News is published electronically. Go here to download 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
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.
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For any information not shown in these pages, or to enquire about Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals, contact the Parish Office here.