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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.

: Postcard-sized Fridge Magnets for sale in Church: £1

Fr. Simon's New Book on Creative Liturgy and Mission

Fr. Simon is having his first theology book published at the end of July! Entitled Creative Ideas for Alternative Sacramental Worship this book shows you how YOU can achieve creative mission through sacramental liturgy.

To have a look at the book and it's first review, see here

Come and See

click here for a map to church

Church Hall Proposals

See our proposal to the Church's planning authorities here

Useful information for today...

Scripture for the Day

“I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.”

Psalm 119:93

Saint of the Day

Saint Olaf II

(also known as Olaf Haraldson;Olaf Haraldsson;Olaf of Norway;Olaus;Olav II;Olav of Norway;Olav the Thick;Olavs;Tola)

Commemorated on 29 July

Son of King Harald of Norway.Viking pirate. Convert, baptised in 1010.Helped Ethelred of England against pagan Danes. King of Norway from 1015 to 1028.Brought missionaries to Norway to evangelize his people.Tried to force Christianity on them, but they revolted in 1029, and drove him to Russia.There he gathered his forces, and in 1030 tried to re-take his throne; killed in battle.Regarded by Norwegians as the great champion of national independence. Martyr.

Born: 995 Died: killed in battle at Stiklestadt on 29 July 1030 while trying to recover his throne;buried at the Trondheim Cathedral; miracles reported at his tomb, and it became a noted place of pilgrimage for Scandanavians Canonised: 1164 by Pope Alexander III

press refresh for another Saint for today

Prayer for the Day

A road-user's prayer

Help me, O God, as I drive,

to love my neighbour as myself,

that I may do nothing to hurt or endanger

any of your children.

Give to my eyes clear vision,

and skill to my hands and feet.

Make me tranquil in mind

and relaxed in body.

Deliver me from the spirit of rivalry,

and from resentment at the actions of others;

and bring me safe to my journeys end,

for Jesus Christs sake.

prayer number 2856 out of 3017 selected at random from a collection by Frank Colquhoun