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.
Come and See
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Scripture for the Day
Scripture for the Day
“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.”
Proverbs 19:20-21
Saint of the Day
Saint of the Day
Blessed Pope John XXIII
(also known as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli)
Commemorated on 11 October
Born to an Italian peasant family. Educated at Bergamo and the Pontifical Roman Seminary. Ordained on 10 August 1904. Secretary to the bishop of Bergamo from 1904 to 1914, during which he wrote the basis for his five-volume biography of Saint Charles Borromeo.Served in World War I in the medical corps, and as a chaplain.Worked in Rome after the war, and reorganized the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Archbishop in 1925.Vatican diplomatic representative to Bulgaria on 16 October 1931, then Turkey and Greece on 12 January 1935.Named papal nuncio to France in 1944 where he mediated between conservative and socially radical clergy.Created cardinal on 12 January 1953, and patriarch of Venice on 15 January 1953.Elected 261st pope on 28 October 1958.As pope, he stressed his own pastoral duties as well as those of other bishops and clergy.Promoted social reforms for workers, poor people, orphans, and the outcast.He advanced cooperation with other faiths and traditions including Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Church of England, and even Shinto.In April 1959, he forbade Catholics to vote for parties supporting Communism.His encyclical Mater et Magistra of 14 July 1961 advocated social reform, assistance to underdeveloped countries, a living wage for all workers, and support for socialist measures that promised real benefit to society.He nearly doubled the number of cardinals, making the college the largest in history.On 25 January 1959, he announced his intent to call a council to consider ways to renew the Church in the modern world, promote diversity within the unity of the Church, and consider reforms promoted by ecumenical and liturgical movements.Convening the council, known as Vatican II, on 11 October 1962, was the high point of his reign.His heartiness, his overflowing love for humanity individually and collectively, and his freshness of approach to ecclesiastical affairs made John one of the best-loved popes of modern times.
Born: 25 November 1881 at Sotto il Monte, diocese of Bergamo, Italy as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli Died: 3 June 1963 at Rome, Italy of natural causes;buried in Saint Peter s basilica, Vatican City Beatified: 3 September 2000 by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter s Square, Rome Canonised: pending
Prayer for the Day
Prayer for the Day
Doxology
Let us give praise to the Father who by his grace has made us his children;
to the Son who by his death and resurrection has brought us new life;
to the Spirit who dwells in our hearts and strengthens us for service.
To the holy and blessed Trinity be praise and glory for ever and ever.