Dear Friends
Our small community continues to grow and I am grateful for those who have joined us. Please pray that we may reach new people who need to hear the Good News of Christ’s saving death and resurrection.
We are still waiting for news on whether the Anglican Church we have approached, asking that we may use their building while we get ourselves started, will be willing to host us. We hope and pray that this will happen soon: our bishop, Metropolitan Silouan, encouraged me to get on with this when I spoke to him recently. May the Lord bless our new ministry.
We have now started the fast for the Nativity according to the flesh of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. We give up certain things, but more importantly we should give up certain behaviours: arrogance, pride, back-biting — all these and more do us harm. A fast is a time for us to forgive and to seek forgiveness: as I heard a few years ago,
Forgiveness is the giving up of hope in a better past.
The scariest words of the the Lord in Scripture are, perhaps, the words we repeat most often but sometimes do not listen to them, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” As one of the saints said, “We only love God as much as we love our worst enemy.” Only as much as we forgive others their trespasses against us will the Lord forgive us.
This week we commemorate one of the Great Feasts of the Church Year, the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple (21st November). The Mother of God was taken by her faithful parents, the Righteous Joachim and Anna, to serve in the temple: she who became the earthly dwelling place of God came and dwelt in the Temple.
Pray to the blessed Mother of God that she may enter a new temple here in Eastleigh and present her Son and her God to us and to all the peoples of this area.
Can I help you?
I am here for you if you need help: get in contact with how I can support you.
Can you help the mission?
Yes!
Firstly, it is only through your prayers for this new community, that the Lord will bless it, that we will become established. Also, please act on your prayer. Is the Lord inspiring you to offer you talents to his Church?
Secondly, please forward this information to anyone who may benefit from it. We are here to serve the entire region, Eastleigh but also Southampton, Fareham, Winchester and the Test Valley and beyond. Do you know one person who would benefit from hearing about Christ?
Thirdly and finally, we hope and pray that we will be able to find a home, but borrowed premises will only be a short-term solution. If we want to honour God as we should we need to be on the look out for a more permanent home of our own: this will require much prayer, discernment, graft and many people offering their talents. We must be praying for this now. Do you know of anywhere in the Eastleigh area which might be suitable? It could be an existing Church which is not needed but could also be a warehouse, an industrial unit, a shop, etc. etc. etc. We may need to be creative.
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
[email protected]