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St. Mary Magdalene & St. Denys Parish Church of Midhurst |
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HOME GROUPS
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& OTHER REGULAR FAITH ACTIVITIES |
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Home groups are a very important part of our Church community. Members meet regularly in their own homes in a friendly and social environment to explore their faith further.
The following summaries from each group, provide a flavour of what each has to offer. (taken from the Annual Parish Report book, published in April 2010)
If you would like to know more, or wish to join a house group, or are not sure which group might suit you, please contact call or e-mail Jonathan Watson (Tel 816145).
Ashfield Close House Group Colin Bailey Tel. 817534 The Ashfield Close House Group met regularly throughout the first half of the year studying St Mark, and making good use of the Scripture Union CD of the gospel. Unfortunately illness among members or members' families prevented us from meeting in the autumn or winter, but we hope to start again after Easter.
Avery House Group Mike Abbott Tel. 814857 The Avery House Group continued to meet during 2009, looking at the Epistle to the Hebrews using a number of commentaries as is our normal practice. We resumed our fortnightly (Tuesday evening) meetings in early 2010 with some new members and to study an interesting non Biblical book – the “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster. This suggests four inward disciplines for spiritual growth: meditation, prayer, fasting and study, and four outward disciplines: confession, worship, guidance and celebration. We have just finished reflecting on the inward disciplines and are now moving on to the outward disciplines. Although some of the text seems a bit dated, the core concepts are proving to be an invaluable insight to spiritual growth, which we practice as we go. 14 Park Crescent Jonathan Watson Tel. 816145 The house group continued to meet regularly through the year on Thursday evenings, and has covered a variety of different topics. Amongst these has been a course on “How to recognise your Spiritual Gifts”, attendance at the RVCT Lent Lectures, and an ongoing study of Hebrews. We meet each week, except in the holidays.
Emmaus House Group Wilson Dennett Tel. 815754 The group has continued to meet regularly twice monthly, usually on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, our venue being the homes of our members. We endeavour to publish this in the weekly church notices.
Currently we are making a study of some of the Old Testament prophets and the subject of prophesy in the Old Testament. So far we have covered the prophets Amos, Isaiah and by way of contrast to these two, Jonah, two giants and a remarkable piece of narrative.
Prior to this our reading of the Psalms under the guidance of James Limburg (we used his book Psalms for Sojourners) proved to be both stimulating and enlightening.
We have welcomed another new member recently and others are welcome to join us if they wish. Just contact me, .
Life and Faith Group Madeleine Crisp We continue to meet twice a month on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. We use our time together to step outside the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, just for a wee while, to read together, and share aspects of our lives and our faith in confidence and with Christian love.
Home Group – Monday Afternoons John Hickman Tel. 810821 We normally meet on alternate Monday afternoons. We are a supportive fellowship of a dozen or so people, uniting through Bible study and prayer to deepen our spiritual lives.
We started 2009 with studies on the “end-times” as revealed in the book of Revelation, and then we progressed to creation, Charles Darwin and evolution. In March Colin Bailey led us in exploring the trees and shrubs in the Bible, followed by Geoff Haines reflecting on our relationships with God, with other people, and prayer.
In the summer we dug deep into Philippians, and then into the characters of Peter, Paul and John the Baptist. In the autumn we grappled with miracles, regeneration, Christian love and heaven; finishing in the winter with sainthood, saving faith and eternal life.
We are a happy, welcoming group. If you would like to talk about joining, please call me.
Oasis Jonathan Watson Tel. 816145 Oasis has continued to meet through the year at Costers Farm. We meet on the first Tuesday evening of most months to share in a time of fellowship, of worship, and of teaching. For our 2009/2010 series we have been looking at “Great Men of Faith in the Old Testament”. One of the greatest blessings of the group is that people come from different churches in the Midhurst area and we regularly have 18 to 25 people for an evening gathering. Anyone is welcome to join us if they wish to do so.
The Julian Group The Julian Group has continued to meet regularly each month at Evelyn Sirey’s house. The four of us appreciate being together in silence – for thirty minutes or so – and then we often have time to share and discuss thoughts and ideas together.
We find it a strengthening experience to know that we are part of a larger body of people who also practice contemplative prayer.
Should you be interested in coming to a meeting you would be most welcome. I am at 33, Oakwood Close – telephone 817676 if you would like to be in touch.
Joyce M Smith
Quiet Time in Church Joan Plant Tel.812796 On Wednesdays I keep a quiet time in the Southampton Chapel from 4.15 pm until five o'clock. There is nothing grand about this - I just light a candle in front of the altar and sit in one of the chairs in the Chapel. I spend the time in silence - I don't introduce the time in any way with words. I spend the first minutes actively praying for our Church and its members but, after this, I give the time totally to God - for Him to use it as He wishes. I just do my best to listen and to try to meet Him in the present moment where He is. Please think about joining me sometimes- and feel completely free to use the silence as you wish - and for as long as feels right for you. I talk to many people who say that they feel 'bombarded' by noise, the media and endless information in today's world. I find that keeping a definite time of silence with God is essential to maintaining a sense of balance in my life and to affirm that He is in charge.
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