Come and Join Us at Fareham United Reformed Church

The United Reformed Church, Osborn Road South, Fareham PO16 7DG
The United Reformed Church, Osborn Road South, Fareham PO16 7DG

We hope that you will find much to interest you here and will want to join with us as Christians in Fareham. Our church mission statement is "Sharing Jesus' love with the world today". This means we, all ages, come together each week for Sunday worship to listen for God's word for us. The rest of the week we try our best to act on what we have heard both in church and through our own prayers. We try to care for each other to the very best, and this love and care then flows out through all of us in our work, leisure and home lives. Wherever you are as regards faith in God, come among us and help us together, to grow closer to him day by day.

You may or may not be aware that there are now daily reflections, written by all kinds of contributors, made available by the United Reformed Church as emails. You can subscribe here to receive them: http://devotions.urc.org.uk/ You can also find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/URCDailyDevotions/.

 

 

Farewell from Paul...and Farewell to Paul...D-Day Approaches...and a Fundraising Concert!

Dear Friends,

When we moved from the Midlands to this pastorate, people bidding us farewell said “Enjoy yourself at the seaside”.  Before I came, I disputed the idea, but how wrong could I be?   We have much enjoyed all aspects of The Solent and its environs - commercial, military and  leisure.

We have learned a lot of history, which we enjoy. From Palmerston’s Follies to PLUTO to Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard so beloved of my Great Grandfather who served a full term in the Royal Navy, rising through the ranks from the late Victorian age to the 1930s.  This month history will come to life again with the marking of the 75th anniversary of D Day in which this part of the country played such a vital role.

Our D Day approaches too, and, in this last Minister’s letter I shall write, I can safely say that Susan and I have been pleased to put our shoulder to the wheel and serve the Lord with you in the Borough of Fareham.  “Prest a faire” - Ready to serve” -  is a good motto for the church as well as our town. May you always be so.

As I preached in Fareham on the story of Peter and Cornelius, I said that God is always ahead of us, preparing the ground.

We are called to live each day expecting God to be active in our lives; turning us again and again to see his Sprit at work, and to work in harmony with him.  

As Christ’s ambassadors, in the words of the First Letter of Peter, we should  “always be ready to give an account of the hope that is in you”:  Always be ready to help others to turn to the God who has, “in his great mercy given us a new life,  a living hope, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Day by day, we can reveal to others the revelations of divine love that are ours, and can be theirs, as we like the Prodigal Son run, rejoicing, to the Father’s loving arms.

Finally, may I quote a friend who was very old when I knew her and who is well safe with the Lord: “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future”

God bless you all

Paul

On Saturday 15th June we hosted a Celebration Concert for Paul and Susan, led by the Church Choir. A wonderful variety of music was performed including hymns, anthems, songs from the shows and many others. A retiring collection raised over £525 for the Church's charities

Paul’s last service at Fareham URC took place on Sunday 30 June and the church was full as many members and friends from all his Pastorates joined this special occasion.

We wish Paul and Susan a very happy, healthy and blessed retirement as they start their next chapter in Oxford.

 

Duggie Dug Dug filled the Church with Bubbles

Duggie Dug Dug joined Fareham United Reformed Church on Sunday 23 June with his friends for our Junior Church Anniversary celebrations. God's children in the congregation ranged from three weeks to over 90 years of age and all were captivated by the wondrous audio-visual feast, celebrating God's creation and his love for us. Music, singing, dancing, prayer, praise, bubbles and puppets provided us with morning devotions which will last long in our memories.

Duggie has a national and international ministry working with children and song writing. Some years ago his song, "We want to see Jesus lifted high", was chosen as the theme song for the Global March for Jesus event and sung by some 25 million people in 176 countries.

 

 

Sharing Jesus' love with the world today