Otterbourne Summer Festival
The Summer Festival will be held again on Sunday 23rd June from 12 noon until 3pm on the recreation ground. More details to follow.
Trinity’s Big Sleep Out
On Friday, 12th May 2023, Trinity will be hosting their Big Sleep Out by spending the night under the stars at Winchester Cathedral in homemade cardboard shelters to raise money and awareness for those facing homelessness. Last year, the event raised over £26,000 to support their services. You are invited you to join them for […]
Morning Service for the Third Sunday of Easter 2023
If you take the Bible literally, God created the world and all that is in it in 6 days and on the 7th day he rested. You might think that is just poetic and it took longer, but however long that took, Easter happened in one day.
Morning Service for the Second Sunday of Easter 2023
We are soon to celebrate the gift of the Spirit. The birthday of the church. The church follows the order of things as given by the writer of the Acts of the Apostles and places the coming of the Holy Spirit 49 days after the Resurrection. But for the writer of St John’s Gospel it was not so; according to him, Jesus’ first appearance to his disciples culminated with him breathing upon them and saying, “receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” These are important words, uncomfortable words, words that make us stop and question what this Gospel is trying to say.
Morning Service for Easter Day 2023
The writer of the gospel according the St John does not waste words. What he writes he writes for a reason. His Gospel is highly structured, nothing is included just for the sake of it, each miracle or sign he reports he uses to disclose the nature of Jesus and his mission. So what of this curious incident with Mary, what is it intended to convey.
Morning Service for Palm Sunday 2023
To write his telling of the story of Jesus Matthew drew on various sources, the most obvious of them was the Gospel of St Mark. On many occasions Matthew does nothing more than précis Mark, but often he will reword and amend to get across his themes and ideas of what Jesus was about, and why he did the things he did. His account of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is a clear example of his tinkering.
Easter Day
This is the principal service of the Christian year. On Sunday, each church in the benefic will be holding their own all-age comminuion service at their usual times.
Good Friday
It has long been the tradition of the church to keep watch during the last three hours Jesus hung on the cross (12 noon – 3pm). We do so at St. Matthew’s, Otterbourne accompanied by beautiful passiontide music, and inspired words, pictures and film. Come along for as long, or as short a time as […]
Easter Service of Meditation
To help us in our journey through this week we are having a 20 minute service of meditation in St. Matthew’s church room, Otterbourne on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 5pm. Do come along to share this time with us.
Morning Service for Lent 5 2023
Today, we begin the story of Jesus’ death upon the cross. Why did he have to die? Perhaps if he had stayed in Galilee preaching he would not have had to die, but He chose to go to Jerusalem and to challenge the powers that be.
MORNING Service for Mothering Sunday 2023
Today is Mothering Sunday, please note, it is not Mother’s Day, that is a day for people to celebrate their mother, it began in America after a one woman campaign by a lady called Anna Jarvis.
A Morning Service for the Third Sunday of Lent 2023
The gospel reading set for today is a very long and puzzling report of a conversation Jesus had with a Samaritan woman. I think it would be easy to miss its significance if we didn’t remember that it is John who is recalling this incident, and nothing he recalls is without great significance.
Easter Services
Please find below the dates and times of our Easter Services across the Benefice. Thursday 6th April 7.30pm Maundy Thursday Parish Communion @ Compton Friday 7th April – Good Friday 10.00am Meet at Wayside Cross. Then walk to Compton church for 10.30am service 12 noon Words and Music for Good Friday @ Otterbourne (2nd) […]
A Morning Service for the Second Sunday of Lent 2023
Our first reading today marks a turning point in the story of how God relates to his world. Within the book of Genesis it links the traditions of God’s providential care for the world and God’s electing call of Israel. With these verses the writer leaves behind the history of humanity and begins the history of the people of God, God’s witness to the world.
A Morning Service for the First Sunday of Lent 2023
So here we are already at the first Sunday of Lent, just 6 weeks to Easter. And that’s the whole point of Lent, Easter. If you ask lots of people in the street what they thought that Lent was all about you’d hear a few ‘don’t knows’, but I guess the majority of people would say that it was about giving something up, usually chocolate or sugar in your tea – I’m not sure how many people could tell you to what purpose.
Second Saturday Lunch
Our next Benefice Second Saturday lunch will be held on Saturday 11th March in the Reeves Scout Hall, Compton. We meet at 12.30pm and enjoy good food and company. Everyone is welcome to join us. Why not come along?
Vocations Day
A Vocations Day is being held on Saturday 11th March at St. Mary’s Church, Andover. This is a great opportunity for those discerning a call to lay
or ordained ministry to find out more.
A Morning Service for the Sunday before Lent 2023
In the 40 years since I started training as a (then) Lay Reader, I have never been asked to preach on the Transfiguration, although I have heard sermons on it in French Protestant churches. It seems to there are two questions that need looking at with regard to the Transfiguration: is it true and what does it mean. I will take these in order, starting with the difficult one.
A Morning Service for the 2nd Sunday before Lent 2023
Some of the most well known words in the English language – “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..” But of course, it wasn’t written in English, it wasn’t the product of an English mind, nor for that matter a North European one – it was written in Hebrew for Hebrew people by Hebrew people.
Breysheyt barar elohim yet Harshamaeem veyt hararrets
Morning Service for Candlemas 2023
To look at life in all its fierceness, its anger and its pain, all its sorrow and bewildering suffering – and yet then to see also the salvation of our God. To see the incredible paradox of life – the world as we know it, and the God that we come to know as its creator, the journey of accepting, even embracing such a paradox, is the journey of seeing the Christ of God. The Christ born to heal, to forgive, to teach, to pray, and to be tortured, scourged, lashed and crucified.