Services this weekend (20th–21st January)
This weekend, and until further notice, our services will be held at.
All Saints’ Church Hall
Desborough Road
Eastleigh
SO50 5NH
The hall is just to the left of the main Church.
Parking: Only on-street parking is available. Many roads near the Church do not have restrictions on Sundays. Please check the signs for parking restrictions.
Dear Friends
There is no guarantee the Church will continue in this country. We do not need to look far around our towns and cities to see buildings that were built as churches but no longer function as churches. And the Orthodox Church is not exempt, the Lord promises that the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church (Matthew 16:18) but makes no such promises about certain local churches in particular places: Orthodox Churches and Parishes have closed down in this country.
If we want there to be a Church for us, for our children and our grandchildren, if we want the Kingdom of Heaven to be proclaimed in this land, if we want to live a life of faithfulness to God and to the Gospel, we must be willing to work together to make it happen.
Our community has made great strides in the nearly three years of holding public services, the most recent key event was our reception of charity status. We have laid good foundations. But if we do not build on those foundations the work would be for nothing. Foundations by themselves do not provide shelter, foundations by themselves do not provide a home, foundations by themselves do not fulfil the purpose for which they were laid. They are good, they are essential for a stable structure, but they are not enough.
After the Liturgy, on 11th February, we will hold a meeting for all in our community—please come: you are welcome!—to discuss how we build on our foundations to establish firmly an Orthodox community here, a community which is,
preaching the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and inviting all to come to greater knowledge of the Father through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And to build on these foundations would require investment from all, effort from all, engagement from all—most of all, though, it would require prayer from all and repentance from all. It would require me, require you, require our whole community to live a deeper life of faithfulness, it would require all of us to draw closer to Jesus Christ through his Church.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us draw together to the Lord, let us run to his embrace, let us be more than Christian in name, let us be Christian in deed, in action, in Truth.
Come and see!
It is the tradition in the Orthodox Church to have our houses blessed at Theophany — please get in contact to arrange a mutually convenient time for me to come.
We serve a meal following the Liturgy on Sundays. All are welcome.
Do you, or someone you know, want to join our mailing list and receive our weekly email? Then let me know.
Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
“In those days,” we are told in the previous chapter of the Gospel of Matthew before today’s reading, “John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’” (Matthew 3:1–2) And today, to the north, in Galilee of the Gentiles, comes the same message, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The blessed Forerunner had been arrested, for daring to speak truth to Herod, and Christ comes to take up the same call. For the message of the Old Covenant is the same as the New, the line of Prophets leading up to the cousin of Christ all call for repentance.
To repent means to change my mind—to turn away from sin and back towards the Lord. It means to accept, “I was wrong.” It also is to accept—despite my protestations, despite me thinking that I am in charge of myself, in charge of my actions—that I allowed myself to be taken over by another power. How often do we look back on the sin in our lives and say, “I couldn’t stop myself from doing it”? The passion took control, took possession of me and I could not resist, I became passive to the power of another in my life: however momentarily, I became enslaved again to sin, I gave up my freedom, I turned my back on God.
How then, dear brothers and sisters, do we fight? How do we take control of ourselves so we may be free? It will not come about without effort. And as I will not be able to run a marathon without training, so too I will not be able to take control of myself without effort. I must learn to be generous towards God and my neighbour; not that God or my neighbour needs my generosity but that through giving away, even those things I think I need, I may show myself to truly own them and not be possessed by them.…
Read last Sunday’s Sermon, Repent.
Archive of Past Sermons.
Services this week
Friday 19th January
Discussion on the Epistle to the Hebrews, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 20th January
Great Vespers, 6.30 pm
At All Saints’ Hall, Eastleigh
Sunday 21st January
Matins & Divine Liturgy, 9 am
At All Saints’ Hall, Eastleigh
Online session is via Google Meet: please get in contact for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We meet (temporarily) at All Saints’ Church Hall, Desborough Road, Eastleigh SO50 5NH. Come and See.
Can I help you?
I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.
Can you help the parish?
Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
[email protected]