A living faith, A warm welcome
It's not just about keeping an old building going in the face of adversity. The Parish of St. Thomas the Apostle is a thriving, living focus of community life within Elson and Hardway. Here, a warm welcome awaits you if you join us and share in God's Holy Sacraments and the Good News that he promises to each and every one of us.
The Parish Church has been a visible witness to the love of Christ since 1846, and as Gosport has grown up around and enveloped the small village of Elson, so the parish and its people have adapted and continued to proclaim the Kingdom of God with vigour and with friendly love.
Come and join us in worship and in fellowship and see what the love of Christ can do for you. Be fed at his Holy Table and enriched by his Holy Word, and discover the difference that the living faith can make to you. Whether you are nine, twenty-nine or ninety, St Thomas the Apostle welcomes you and can find a sacred space for you to encounter God.
Our life is lived through the sacramental worship of God; through the mass celebrated during the week and on Sundays, through the daily work of worship in the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer and through encounters with God in alternative and meditative worship. hatever your preference, St Thomas can offer a worship experience for you.
Your parish priest is Fr. Simon Rundell, and he, along with all the people of this parish welcome you to come and join us, enjoy our fellowship and hospitality and share in our joyous worship.
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Scripture for the Day
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
Saint of the Day
Saint Ethelhard
(also known as Æthelheard;Æthilheard;Aethelheard;Aethilheard;Ethelreard)
Commemorated on 12 May
Abbot, probably of Louth, Lincolnshire, England.May have been bishop of Winchester, England.Fourteenth Archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated on 21 July 793.Elected to the see at a time when Mercian King Offa was trying to weaken Canterbury s influence.Ethelhard had to flee from his see for a while, but when Cenwulf succeeded in Mercia, they worked together to restore the rights of Canterbury, a matter finally settled in 802.Had Offa succeeded, his policy would not only have affected the Church, it would have seriously slowed the unification of England.Ethelhard convened the synod of Clovesho in 803, which resulted in a requirement of a pledge obedience by new bishops to their superior.
Died: 12 May 805 at Canterbury, England of natural causes;buried in the Canterbury cathedral Canonised: Pre-Congregation
Prayer for the Day
O Christ, to whom all authority is given both in heaven and earth: Transform our wills, cleanse our hearts, and enlighten our minds; that all our thoughts and desires being made obedient to thy pure and holy law, we may grow up in all things unto thee, and present ourselves a living sacrifice, to the praise and glory of thy name; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever.