St. Mary’s is a Church that seek to be “inspired by God’s passion for the World”

– which means we are called to serve one another, and the community around us, with the self-giving love that we see in Jesus Christ.

We value diversity, and St. Mary’s is a place where all are welcome – young and old, married, single and divorced, committed believers along with the curious, the wounded or disillusioned. We are a place of new hope and second chances, thanks be to God …

For-Church-Guide-15The Purpose of St. Mary’s Horsham

is to serve the work of God’s Kingdom in our Parish and beyond, in partnership with our fellow Churches (particularly as part of our Church of England Team Parish, and “Horsham Churches Together” for example) and with all people of goodwill
– by enabling the following five areas of ministry to flourish in the name of Jesus Christ:

  • WORSHIPPING AND PRAYING
  • GROWING AS DISCIPLES
  • CARING AS A FELLOWSHIP
  • SERVING AND TRANSFORMING THE COMMUNITY (local and global)
  • PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL

….. We don’t always succeed in all this of course ….. so we say sorry, pick ourselves up and we start again!

Building “on purpose” at St. Mary’s

At St. Mary’s we deliberately arrange Church life around these 5 areas of our purpose. We recognise that God is indeed God, and has a habit of doing significant things without the aid of our help & our plans (indeed sometimes while we are looking the other way entirely!) … however we believe that He still calls us to prayerfully discern and obediently follow His will for us, as best we are able.

As a result, a St. Mary’s “Mission Action Plan” (available in Church) addresses priorities and growth in all 5 areas of our Purpose, as well as in the practical areas of buildings & fabric, and administration & finance. Seven mission action teams take responsibility for each of these areas, made up of ordinary church members, who serve under the oversight of the Leadership Team and Church Council.

Links with the wider Church

St. Mary’s is part of the Horsham Team Parish – which also includes our sister churches Holy Trinity & St. Leonard’s, links to whose websites can be found here. We also belong to the Deanery of Horsham and the Diocese of Chichester within the Church of England – and we share in mission and fellowship with our partner churches of other denominations, as part of Horsham Churches Together.