List of Sermons

• ECCLESIASTES & I PETER – TWO APPROACHES TO TIME AND FAITH

  A Sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at Evensong at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, on Epiphany 3, Sunday, Janaury 26th, 2020, the Eve of Holocaust Memorial Day. Psalm 33:1-12, Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, I Peter 1:3-12. We’ve heard two very contrasting readings this evening – the first from Ecclesiastes 3, the famous passage, often used at funerals: ‘A time to be born and a time to die’; and ... Read the whole sermon

• ALL ARE CALLED – (And Worship Review/ Simplification/Year of Pilgrimage)

  A Sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at Holy Ascension Hyde on Epiphany 2, January 19th, 2020 I Cor 1:1-9,  John 1:29-42 I’ve got a fairly simple plan this morning – I want to reflect briefly on today’s readings, and then to discuss two or three particular issues for us as Churches this year. One of the themes of this Epiphany Season is the calling of the ... Read the whole sermon

• THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST: TRANSCENDANCE & IMMANENCE

  A Sermon given by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge, on the Feast of the Baptism of Christm, Sunday, January 12th, 2020. Acts 10:34-43, Matt 3:13-17 I’ve got a fairly simple plan this morning – I want to reflect briefly on the Baptism of Christ, to talk about two theological terms, and then to discuss two or three particular issues for us as ... Read the whole sermon

• BONHOEFFER’S LAST CHRISTMAS – AND HOPE

  A Sermon preached at the Midnight Service, December 24th-25th, 2019, at Holy Ascension Hyde, by Canon Gary Philbrick. Tit 2:11-12, Lk 2:1-14 75 years ago tonight, at Christmas 1944, the German Pastor and Theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was spending what turned out to be his last Christmas imprisoned in a Gestapo Prison in the Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse in Berlin.  He was well-known in Germany, and in other parts of ... Read the whole sermon

• THE ADVENT HOPE DURING AN ELECTION

  A Sermon preached be Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mark’s, Highcliffe, on the Second Sunday of Advent, December 8th, 2020, just before the General Election Isaiah 11:1-10, Matthew 3:1-12 Lord, open your Word to our hearts this Advent, and our hearts to your Word always.  AMEN. 75 years ago this Advent, in December 1944, the German Pastor and Theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was imprisoned in a Gestapo ... Read the whole sermon

• REMEMBRANCE POETRY – Reflections at Evensong on Remembrance Day

  Canon Gary Philbrick, Remembrance Sunday, November 10th, 2019, 6.30p.m., St Mary’s, Fordingbridge. Ps. 40:1-10, I Kings 3:1-15. Romans 8:31-end Three poems for Remembrance Sunday: The first is in memory of Nelson French, a regular at Evensong, whose funeral is next Friday, and who asked to read this a poem year ago today at the Evening Service of Prayers for Peace and Reconciliation, as we commemorated ... Read the whole sermon

• 1919: END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR; BEGINNING OF THE SECOND? A Sermon at the Remembrance Day Services in Fordingbridge.

  Preached by Canon Gary Philbrick on November 10th, 2019. Matt 5:1-12 1919 – One hundred years ago. 1919 was the year that the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th – we commemorated the occasion in the Memorial Gardens on June 28th this year when a plaque was unveiled commemorating all of those who died, and all of those who suffered, in the First World War. The ... Read the whole sermon

• ‘THE MOST CONFUSING PARABLE’ – Luke 16:1-13 – The Parable of the Unjust Steward

  A Sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, and Sandleheath Uniting Church on Trinity 14, Sunday, September 22nd, 2019. I Timothy 2:1-7, Luke 16:1-13 Trying to explain Parables is rather like trying to explain jokes – the risk is of ruination, rather than elucidation. And that’s particularly so when we come to a Parable as tricky and as difficult to understand as the ... Read the whole sermon

• THE GOOD SAMARITAN – WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

  A Sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick on Trinity 4, Sunday, July 14th, at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge and Sandleheath Uniting Church, on ‘Rural Mission Sunday’ and ‘Sea Sunday’ Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10:25-37 If you were in a really, really difficult situation, who would be the last person you’d expect to help you?  Just ponder for a moment.  Who would be the last ... Read the whole sermon

• SEND US OUT IN THE POWER OF YOUR SPIRIT – A Sermon for the 3rd Sunday after Trinity

  Preached by Canon Gary Philbrick on Sunday, July 7th, 2019, at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, at a Benefice Service at which the Revd Mike Trotman presided for the first time. Gal 6:7-16, Luke 10:1-11,16-20 Lord Jesus, stride into this mess of words and make some sense of them.  AMEN. It’s a great privilege to have been asked by Mike to preach this morning, and ... Read the whole sermon

• WHAT IS YOUR NAME? – RETURN TO YOUR HOME!

  A Sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge, on Sunday, June 23rd, 2019, Trinity 1 Gal 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39 That Gospel Reading, sometimes known as ‘The Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac’, has got lots of difficulties, both textual and interpretive. As we look at some of the details and problems, I’d like you to keep in mind a question ... Read the whole sermon

• NO FEAR & FEAR – A Sermon for Evensong on the 5th Sunday of Easter

  Preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s, fordingbridge at 6.30p.m. on Sunday, May 19th. The two readings we’ve heard this evening could be characterised as ‘No Fear’ and ‘Fear’! The first was a story I’m sure most of us will remember from childhood, the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. It’s a shame we didn’t hear the first few verses of ... Read the whole sermon

• ‘TIS GOOD, LORD, TO BE HERE – A Sermon preached at Hale Church on the Sunday Next Before Lent, March 3rd , 2019

  Preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at a Service on the Sunday Next Before Lent, when the Gospel Reading tells of Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountain top, and in the context of a Service with Prayer for Healing. II Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-36 This Sunday Before Lent, in our Lectionary of readings, is Transfiguration Sunday.  Both readings we have heard are about mountain ... Read the whole sermon

• WE ARE GOD’S JIGSAW – A Sermon during the Jigsaw Puzzle Festival

  Preached by Canon Gary Philbrick, 3rd Sunday Before Lent, 17/II/19, at Evensong at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge. Psalm 6, Hosea 10:1-8,12. Gal. 4:8-20 Lord Jesus, stride into this mess of words, fit the pieces of this puzzle together, and make some sense of them, to your glory. AMEN. As we’re surrounded by jigsaws, I want to spend a few moments developing some thoughts about ... Read the whole sermon

• ONLY JUSTICE – AND THE AMBLESIDE JEWS – A Sermon for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

  Preached at the Unity Week United Service at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, on Sunday, January 27th, 2019 – also Holocaust Memorial Day.  Deut. 16:11-20, Luke 4:14-21 Lord God, take my words and speak through them, take our minds and think through them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN. There’s not been very ... Read the whole sermon

• THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST

  A Sermon preached at Hyde Church on January 13th, 2019, by Canon Gary Philbrick Acts 8:14-17, Luke 3:15-17,21-22 The celebration of Christmas by Christians of East and West is complex. In the West, we celebrate Christmas on Dec 25th, and Epiphany on January 6th – a concentration on the Nativity of Jesus in the first of these, and a concentration on the arrival ... Read the whole sermon

• THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING, JESUS’ MINISTRY AND THE CREEDS

  A Sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at Holy Ascension Hyde on the Feast fo Christ the King, November 25th, 2018. Rev 1:4b-8, Jn 18:33-37 How are your Christmas puddings coming along?  I only ask as today is often called ‘Stir-up Sunday’, from the words of the Prayer Book Collect for today, which is also today’s Post Communion Prayer: ‘Stir up, we ... Read the whole sermon

• St MARY MAGDALENE

  A Sermon preached at Fordingbridge and Breamore Churches on the Feast of St Mary Magdalene, July 22nd, 2018, by Canon Gary Philbrick. Ps. 42:1-7, II Corinthians 5:14-17, John 20: 1-2, 11-18 Lord God, take my words and speak through them, take our minds and think through them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN. St ... Read the whole sermon

• St SWITHUN: GROWING IN FAITH, REACHING OUT TO ALL

  A sermon preached at Godshill, Hale and Fordingbridge Churches on St Swithun’s Day, July 15th, 2018, by Canon Gary Philbrick a.m.: Ps. 20 James 5:7-18 Matt 5:43-48  Lord God, take my words and speak through them, take our minds and think through them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN. That’s a challenging Gospel Reading. As part of ... Read the whole sermon

• THE NHS AT 70

  A Sermon preached at Fordingbridge and Sandleheath Churches on Trinity 6, July 8th, 2018, by Canon Gary Philbrick. Ps. 48, II Cor 12:2-10, Mark 6:1-13 Lord God, take my words and speak through them, take our minds and think through them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN. I, along with Nicky and Rachel, had ... Read the whole sermon

• Sin – A sermon for Passion Sunday, evensong, 18th March 2018 St Mary’s evensong (not preached due to snow!)

  Very occasionally when watching an old film, usually set in London, the street scene will include a man with a sandwich board declaring something like “Repent your sins, the end is nigh”. The only sandwich board I have seen in real life is some poor chap who stands on the A303 somewhere near Andover advertising a pub during opening hours. ... Read the whole sermon

• Death and new life – a sermon preached by Mark Ward at Hale on 18th March 2018

  There’s no two ways about it, the gospel reading today isn’t full of joy although it does end with Jesus offering hope to those who follow him. Why isn’t it joyful, because it’s about death. It is said that there are three topics to keep away from avoiding conflict, discussions that talk about sex, politics or religion, but I’d also ... Read the whole sermon

• RIGHTEOUS ANGER? – A Sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge

  4/III/18  Lent 3   Ex 20:1-17,  Jn 2:13-22 May the words I speak and the words you hear be God’s alone.  AMEN. What place does anger have in our life of faith?  That’s a question which is raised in different ways by both of our readings this morning. As part of a list of instructions to new Christians, the writer to the Ephesians says, ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon on faith preached by Mark Ward, St Mary’s Fordingbridge, 25th February, evenson

  I guess it’s not strange that when I read the two readings set for this evening, I thought, “I’ve spoken about all of this before”, the subject matter being faith. A number of you here are roughly the age Abram was when God commanded him to up-sticks and move his family to a faraway land. For most people the age of ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon on servanthood preached by Mark Ward on 25th February, at Lyndhurst

  Being a servant isn’t as common now as it used to be. When my father was young, just about 100 years ago, being in service was common, whether it be at a big house or as the person who “did” for the doctor or some other local professional or business person. One of my aunts was a housekeeper for a ... Read the whole sermon

• Good News – A sermon preached by the Archdeacon of Winchester at St Mary’s Fordingbridge on the First Sunday of Lent

  Archdeacon Richard Brand, February 18th, 2018 Mark 1:9-15 Come Holy Spirit: what we know not, teach us; what we have not, grant us; what we are not, make us; for your love’s sake. Amen. You may have come across articles this week stating that the Church of England is encouraging a reduction in plastic use through Lent. I only heard about this on ... Read the whole sermon

• EPIPHANY GIFTS – A talk by our Girl Bishop

  Kate Daykin has been our Girl Bishop from Advent to Epiphany this Christmas, and this is the talk she gave at the Allsorts Service on Epiphany Sunday, January 7th, 2017 (Posted with her parents permission). My sister Florrie likes to play hide and seek with both my brother Ian and me. The game normally starts with either myself or Ian hiding, ... Read the whole sermon

• Christmas Day, St Mary the Virgin, Fordingbridge, 2017.

  A ‘Thought for the Day’ by Craig Philbrick, Ordinand. Good morning.  My name is Craig and I’m a 2nd year trainee vicar at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Now.  Has anyone opened a present this morning? I haven’t but I’m hoping you can help me unwrap my presents. (Unwrap present 1) That’s just what I was hoping for.  I really wanted a box of chocolates and I ... Read the whole sermon

• THE SHEPHERDS AND THE ANGELS – Christmas Midnight Service

  A Sermon preached on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2017, at the Church of the Holy Ascension at Hyde, by Canon Gary Philbrick, Rector. I don’t know how it is for you, but for me the run-up to Christmas can be quite challenging. There is always a lot to do – wrapping presents, sending out cards, getting to see family and friends to ... Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon preached on Sunday 24/Monday 25th December 2017, Fordingbridge & Hale – Christmas Day! The Reverend Rachel Noël

  Christmas Midnight FB, Hale Xmas morning 2017 “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our rock and our redeemer.” Amen The Nativity – Gari Melcher Christmas day… Christmas day… what is there left to say today… many of you will have been to various carol services or nativities in recent weeks, perhaps ... Read the whole sermon

• TESTIFY TO THE LIGHT

  A sermon for Advent 3, preached at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, 17/XII/17, by Canon Gary Philbrick. Is 61:1-4,8-11, Jn 1:6-8,19-28 Advent is the season of imperatives!  Watch!  Pray!  Rejoice!  Come, Lord Jesus!  Hark, a thrilling voice is sounding!  Be alert!  Be on your guard!  Wake up, the time is near!  And so on. It’s a season of weighty themes – the Four Last Things ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached by Mark Ward, Advent 2 – coming second and being ready

  My oldest grandchild, Jacob, is about 5½. Halves are very important at that age. He likes playing games but he does not like losing. He’s getting proficient at counting so we are sometimes to be found playing snakes and ladders. He laughs uproariously when I go down a snake but strangely he doesn’t do the same when his counter does ... Read the whole sermon

• THE ADVENT ADVENTURE – A Sermon for Advent Sunday, December 3rd, 2017

  Isaiah 64:1-9, Mark 13:24-37 (Lectionary Year B), 9.00a.m., St Giles, Godshill, preached by Canon Gary Philbrick. ‘What I say to you, I say to all: Keep awake.’’ . I’ve sometimes wondered whether all sermons ought to open with those words – the Preacher’s hope! They’re taken, of course, from the end of Mark 13, our Gospel reading for today, as we begin ... Read the whole sermon

• 500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE REFORMATION

  A sermon preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, on Bible Sunday, October 29th, 2017. Col 3:12-17 Matt 24:30-35  O gracious and most merciful Father, you have given us the rich and precious jewel of your holy Word; assist us with your Spirit, that it may be written in our hearts to our everlasting comfort, to re-form us according to your ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon by Rachel Noel, St Mary’s Fordingbridge & Sandleheath Church, 3rd September 2017

  May the words that I speak and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our Rock & our Redeemer. Amen In case we’re ever lulled into the thinking that being a Christian is a nice, cosy, comfortable place to be – that we can just gather with our friends, with like-minded people to sing hymns and say ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon by Rachel Noel, St Mary’s Fordingbridge, 27th August 2017

  “Come Holy Spirit, bring us light, teach us, heal us, give us life. Come, Lord, O let our hearts flow with love and all that is true.” Amen (Hymn 408, v2, Margaret Rizza) I’m really excited by our readings this morning, there is so much to think about from within these two short passages. (I will try not to get over excited and ... Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Breamore on 23rd July, 2017, the sixth Sunday after Trinity.

  ‘Broken’ is the imaginative title of a recent BBC1 TV drama starring Sean Bean as a Catholic Parish Priest in a downtown suburban parish of Liverpool. It was a very brave piece of TV because it unashamedly depicted some of the ugliest features of the church and humanity to such powerful effect. The main character, Fr Michael Kerrigan, is haunted by ... Read the whole sermon

• Rural Church Sunday – first fruits (a different sermon to Godshill!) preached at Ellingham on 16th July by Mark Ward

  Today is Rural Church Sunday. I wonder what image that conjures in your mind. Do you see the idyll of the English countryside, thatched cottages, the village green, the thwack of leather on willow, horses in the paddock, a blue, blue sky and tea and strawberries on the lawn?   Or do you see vast fields, huge machines, backbreaking harvesting, up at ... Read the whole sermon

• Rural Church Sunday – first fruits, a sermon preached by Mark Ward at Godshill on Sunday 16th July

  It would be something of a doddle for me to preach about the feeding of the four thousand or the five thousand given what I do daily for a charity which last year provided almost 1.2 million food parcels for people in this country. It isn’t the reading for today as set in the lectionary but it was one of ... Read the whole sermon

• TOMORROW SHALL BE MY DANCING DAY

  A traditional carol used in a Sermon by Canon Gary Philbrick on July 9th – the sermon text will be posted below. 1.  Tomorrow shall be my dancing day; I would my true love did so chance To see the legend of my play, To call my true love to my dance; Chorus:  Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love, This have ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon by John Towler. Trinity 4. Hyde Church. 2017.

  A disaster waiting to happen! That is how many residents at the Grenfell Tower Flats described their tragedy. I guess all of us might have had such words on our lips to describe such occasions we have experienced or witnessed. How often have you found yourself angry and frustrated that you have been or are not be listened to and ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge & Breamore on Trinity 2, 25th June 2017, Rachel Noël

  May the words of my lips & the meditation of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our rock and our redeemer – Amen   So we’ve just got started on our readings from the book of Romans. Almost every Sunday between now and the end of September the New Testament lectionary reading is from the book of Romans – so ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached on the feast of Pentecost at St. Giles Church, Godshill 2017 by the Reverend John Towler

  Tante agurri! Happy Birthday. Pentecost, Whitsunday is traditionally a day when we reflect on new life, on birth. The writer of Genesis reflects on the meaning of creation when he writes, “…and the Spirit of God was moving over (or was hovering over) the face of the waters”. St.Luke in his gospel story in announcing the birth of Jesus through the words ... Read the whole sermon

• BORN IN SONG -Trinity 1, June 18th, 2017

  A Sermon preach by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s Fordingbridge on the First Sunday after Trinity, Music Sunday, and at a joint Service with Fordingbridge and Sandleheath Methodist Churches. ‘As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near” ’ .  We have entered the season of Trinity, that part of the Church’s Year known as ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Churches, Fordingbridge & Breamore on Trinity Sunday, 11th June 2017, Rachel Noël

  May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit… Amen So today is Trinity Sunday, one of the principal feast days in the Anglican Church, and it’s why we’ve gone white & gold today. We have several feasts in the church calendar, most of them are marking events in Jesus’ life, or other historical events. I ... Read the whole sermon

• CHOOSE LOVE! – A Sermon at the Twinning Service on the Sunday after Ascension, May 28th, 2017

  By Canon Gary Philbrick (A Service for the 35th Anniversary of the Vimoutiers/Fordingbridge Twinning – See Sermon in French below) Acts 1:6-14, John 17:1-11 May the words I speak and the words you hear be God’s alone, Au nom du Père et du Fils et du Saint-Esprit.  AMEN. This time between Ascension Day last Thursday and Pentecost next Sunday is a time of waiting ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church Fordingbridge and St. Mary’s Church Breamore on the 5th Sunday after Easter 2017 by the Reverend John Towler.

  “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places” (John 14:2). These words from John’s Gospel lie at the heart of the Easter hope for all people. For ‘dwelling places’, in Greek ‘topoi’, I want to translate as ‘resting places’. Bishop’s College, Cheshunt, my Theological College was the original house of the Countess Selina of Huntingdon. It was a rambling but ... Read the whole sermon

• “The Church & Politics”, a sermon preached at Sandleheath on Sunday 14th May 2017 by Mark Ward

  There is a view that faith and politics don’t mix but I find that an argument which really doesn’t hang together in a country which has a national church, where the Head of State and the Head of the Church are the same person, and where the bishops from that national church sit as “Lords Spiritual” in one of the ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on Easter 3, 30th April 2017, Rachel Noël

  May the words that I speak and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen What a gift of a reading today. The road to Emmaus. There is so much in this story, it’s one of my favourite passages in the Bible, one that I come back to again and again. So ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on the Second Sunday after Easter, 23rd April 2017.

  We live in a largely scientific orientated world. Knowledge abounds as researchers discover more about how our bodies work, how to harness the world’s resources to produce enough energy and how to increase economic stability. I, for one, am astounded how a mere piece of calf can keep my ticker going! We hear of new drugs, new procedures, great strides ... Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on Easter Day-16th April 2017 by the Reverend John Towler.

  Maybe the nearest understanding I have of Easter faith is this moment, now! I am alive, I am present, and the spirit of the living God lives within me. Is the life I live now a foretaste of my resurrection? Is the life of connectedness in this community this morning a foretaste of the resurrection of the body? I guess ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached on Easter Sunday morning – Fake News? – Mark Ward, St Mary’s Fordingbridge

  I wonder what brought you here this morning? I asked exactly the same question to the midnight mass congregation at Christmas 2015. Some of you will be here because you are always here, some because you are perhaps visiting family or friends and some because, well it just felt like the right thing to do today. Any one of those ... Read the whole sermon

• Fathers – St Joseph, evensong 19th March, preached by Mark Ward

  Today we celebrate the feast of St Joseph of Nazareth, husband of Mary the mother of Jesus and earthly father to Jesus, natural father to at least 3 more sons and two daughters. His story is confined to the time before, during and after Jesus’ birth and the incident we heard read to us a few moments ago, the day ... Read the whole sermon

• The woman at Jacob’s Well – risk taking – a sermon preached on Sunday 19th March at Hale by Mark Ward

  I don’t know what it is about this gospel passage but I’m often drawn to it. Last Tuesday I was invited by the Bishop of Bath and Wells to present to his area Deans and Lay Chairs about the Deanery Mapping process we have undertaken in this diocese and deanery. If that doesn’t mean much to you, we all did ... Read the whole sermon

• THE BOWL OF WATER AND THE TOWEL (Part of Lent Series: Symbols of the Passion)

  Canon Gary Philbrick, Lent 2, 9/III/17, 9.30a.m., St Mary’s, Fordingbridge. Genesis 12:1-4a, John 3:1-17 During this Lent we’re basing our sermons not only on the Scripture passage for the day, but also on the Symbols of the Passion, which we are adding to the Lenten Cross at the beginning of the Service each Sunday in Lent.  Today, the bowl of water and ... Read the whole sermon

• Reflections 1 and 2

  Reflection 1.   You will have noticed that the Collect I chose for today is that for George Herbert, whose writings, “The Temple” and “The Country Parson” greatly influenced me in my understanding of what it means to be a parish priest or parson. I commend it. It is about Being and not Doing. It links up with the hymn  “ Dear Lord ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached in Godshill on 5th March 2017 – Lent 1 – Symbols of the passion – Bread and Wine, Mark Ward

  Preaching for the season of Lent is all about the Symbols of Christ’s Passion – the period of his travel to the Cross. Now we could argue that his journey to the cross began at his birth or even at the dawn of time before the world ever was, but for this purpose we are to think about the period ... Read the whole sermon

• BISHOP HASSAN & MRS MARGARET DEHQANI-TAFTI – A Sermon for Evensong on the Sunday Next Before Lent

  Preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, Sunday, February 26th, 6.30p.m. Ps 84, Eccles 48:1-10, Matt 17:9-23 Today’s readings are around the theme of Transfiguration – I spoke about that this morning, and will put that Sermon on our website.  Then I was reflecting on our experience of worship, and how we have to return to the rest of life, ... Read the whole sermon

• ‘TIS GOOD, LORD, TO BE HERE – A Sermon for the Sunday Next Before Lent

  Preached by Canon Gary Philbrick at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, Sunday, February 26th, 9.30a.m. II Pet 1:16-21, Matt 17:1-9 This Sunday Before Lent, in our Lectionary of readings, is Transfiguration Sunday.  Both readings we have heard are about the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain top – either telling the story of Jesus himself on the mountain top in the Gospel Reading; or ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached in Fordingbridge at Evensong on 22 Jan 2017 by Mark Ward – God’s new time

  What responsibility does being sworn in as the most influential leader of the free world bring with it? What responsibility does being elected as Prime Minister of this country bring with it for that matter?   The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes clearly understood that there were times for all things – for peace, for war, for smashing down, for building ... Read the whole sermon

• COME AND SEE – A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Epiphany

  15/I/17, 9.30 a.m., St Mary’s Fordingbridge I Cor 1:1-9,  John 1:29-42 The Reading we have just heard from St John’s Gospel is one of a sequence given to us during this Epiphany Season.  Last week it was the arrival of the Wise Men, the first non-Jews to visit Jesus.  This week it is the equivalent in John’s Gospel of the Baptism of ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached at St Mary’s Fordingbridge and at Sandleheath Uniting Church on Sunday 18th December by Mark Ward – Meeting the real Advent and EasterJesus

  Has anyone been to see “I Daniel Blake”? It’s available now on Amazon and at all other good DVD sellers, I did consider buying 50 copies but I thought the treasurer might blanch so I suggest that a few people buy one and then do one of two things – spread it around for people to watch or even better ... Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on the Feast of Christ the King 2016.

  A Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on the Feast of Christ the King 2016. If you are like me, and I am not suggesting for a moment that any of you are, the thought of a Rule of Life fills me with some intrepidation. For part of my Theological Training I lived with a monastic community or a ... Read the whole sermon

• A very long! sermon preached at Godshill and Hale for “Christ the King” about “The Rule of Life” Sunday 20th November 2016 – Mark Ward

  This is the final Sunday of our Christian year, next week we begin again as we ready ourselves to welcome a baby into the world, a baby whose life ends up in the hands of a foreign official who asks him: “Are you a king?” As usual Jesus doesn’t answer the question, “you say that I am” he replies but he also ... Read the whole sermon

• REMEMBERING OUR LOVED ONES – A Sermon for All Souls’ Sunday

  Preached at the All Souls’ Services at Woodgreen and Fordingbridge on Sunday, November 6th, 2016 Canon Gary Philbrick John 14:1-6,27 The author of the Old Testament Book of Wisdom wrote these famous words: ‘1The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. 2In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached on Bible Sunday, 23rd October, by Mark Ward at Sandleheath.

  “The best book to read is the bible; The best book to read is the bible; If you read it every day, it will help you on your way; Oh, the best book to read is the bible.”   I remember singing that at Scripture Union in my teens, but it has now fallen by the wayside as have many of the old choruses in ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon on the occasion of celebrating 50 years of ordination, preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on Sunday 16th October 2016 (Trinity 21).

  “But as for you continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ”.(2Timothy 3:14-15).   Part of what I have to share with you this morning has been inspired by the writings of ... Read the whole sermon

• HATE-BUSTERS & NEIGHBOUR-LOVERS – A sermon preached at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge on Trinity 13, August 21st, 2016

  Canon Gary Philbrick  Heb 12:18-29, Lk 13:10-17 O God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, shine in our hearts to bring us to the knowledge of your glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN.  (St Paul, II Corinthians 4:6) It’s a stinging rebuke that Jesus gives to the leader of the synagogue and the others who criticised ... Read the whole sermon

• UPWARDS AND OUTWARDS – A Sermon preached on Trinity 10

  Canon Gary Philbrick St Mary the Virgin, Fordingbridge, 31/VII/16 Trinity 10  9.30a.m.  Col 3:1-11, Lk 12:13-21 Lord, open your Word to our hearts and transform them, and our hearts to your Word to receive your generosity and love, and to share them with others.  AMEN. +Tim Winton, 11/V/13 (adapted) When Paul and those close to him were writing letters to the Churches of Asia Minor, ... Read the whole sermon

• THE EU REFERENDUM RESULT – A Sermon preached at St Mary’s, Fordingbridge, Sunday, June 26th, 9.30a.m.

  Canon Gary Philbrick Gal 5:1,13-25; Luke 7:51-62 It’s been a tumultuous week or two in politics.  The very divisive EU Campaign – how far away that all now seems; then the terrible murder of the MP, Jo Cox, and the pause in campaigning, and the very moving response to that from the people of Batley and Spen, and the very dignified reflections ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached by Mark Ward in Fordingbridge, evensong 26th June 2016 – rejection and acceptance.

  Clearly the theme this evening is about being rejected. The Genesis passage is about so much more as well, deception, ambition, choosing a favourite over another and also acceptance that what is done is done on the one hand from Isaac but a declaration of vengeance from Esau who has been wronged. Jesus on the other hand seems to have ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached by Mark Ward at Mattins, Breamore, 26th June – ministry, rejection, and the way of love.

  Today’s gospel is probably one of the most difficult 12 verses we come across because it puts out a huge challenge. “Jerusalem the golden, with milk and honey blest, Beneath thy contemplation sink heart and voice oppressed. I know not, O I know not, what joys await us there, What radiancy of glory, what bliss beyond compare.” So says the hymn-writer. Well for Jesus Jerusalem ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at Godshill and Hale by Mark Ward on 19th June – the man filled with demons

  I was presented with quite a dilemma regarding what I might say today. Today is Father’s Day, a frivolous concept invented to sell cards but I guess also in this age it allows men not to be discriminated against by having something to match Mother’s Day, which of course isn’t Mother’s Day at all but Mothering Sunday and we don’t ... Read the whole sermon

• THE SERVANT QUEEN – A Sermon at Services celebrating the Queen’s 90th Birthday

  St Mary’s Fordingbridge, Sunday, June 12th, 2016 (and in a slightly different form, at St Boniface, Woodgreen on the same afternoon)  Canon Gary Philbrick Mark 12:13-17 Lord, open your Word to our hearts, and our hearts to your Word.  AMEN. It’s wonderful to gather here this morning, not only to celebrate the Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday, to give thanks for her reign, ... Read the whole sermon

• THE EU REFERENDUM DEBATE – a sermon preached at St Giles, Godshill, on June 5th, Trinity 2

  Canon Gary Philbrick I’ve been wanting for some time to reflect on the EU Referendum debate, but (a) I haven’t found the right occasion until now, and (b) I’ve felt rather constrained because I have strong views on the matter.  I’m not going to speak for very long, so there will be the chance for you to offer your own reflections ... Read the whole sermon

• REFLECTIONS ON THE HOLY TRINITY

  22/V/16 Trinity Sunday Fordingbridge Church, 9.30   (Yr C) – Canon Gary Philbrick Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15 May I speak in the Name of the Son, in the Power of the Holy Spirit, and to the Glory of God the Father, one Holy Trinity.  AMEN. When we come on Trinity Sunday to consider the Holy Trinity we are thinking about the most difficult and ... Read the whole sermon

• St George’s Day Reflections – a sermon by Gary at St Boniface Woodgreen

  THE CROSS OF St GEORGE  Ephesians 4:7-16 What do we know about St George, whose Feast Day was yesterday? . Compared to other countries in the world, England doesn’t really make much of its patron saint!  St George’s Day falls on the 23rd of April but it is rarely marked by any special events and it does not even earn us a Bank ... Read the whole sermon

• The Small and the Big Pictures – a sermon for Vocations Sunday (Easter 4), April 17th 2016

  Canon Gary Phlbrick, at St Mary’s Fordingbridge, 9.30a.m. Acts 9:36-43 & John 10:22-30 After taking my nearly two-year old grand-daughter swimming on Monday morning, we went into a Café in Ringwood for a drink.  As I sat her at a table, she started pointing at the salt and pepper pots and saying something that sounded like ‘An, An, An’.  I moved the ... Read the whole sermon

• A sermon preached at Woodgreen by Mark Ward on Sunday 10th April “Casting our nets on the other side”

  Apparently Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I guess it only comes true if the result you get isn’t the one you want. The disciples weren’t doing anything wrong as they went fishing, for when you fish from a boat as they did, ... Read the whole sermon

• Transformation… (A pink journey), 10th April 2016, St Mary’s Fordingbridge, Rachel Noël

  So today we have two really big picture readings, fabulous imagery, fantastic stories, huge signs of the transformation that is possible in Christ. Are they stories that you relate to? Or do they seem too big? Too fantastical?… how do they speak to you today? One of the ways that I think we relate to these stories is in juxtaposition to our ... Read the whole sermon

• Joining with Jesus to reach out to the world, Mark Ward, Easter Day 2016, Woodgreen

  If you were in St Mary’s Fordingbridge for Christmas Eve midnight mass you heard me ask this question – so why are you here? Why are any of us here? Why are we not out there enjoying the third of a four day bank holiday weekend with friends and family maybe walking, or having a lazy morning in bed with ... Read the whole sermon

• 28th February Sermon St Mary’s Fordingbridge – Christians and the Community

    You may need to read the following scripture alongside this sermon (Genesis 28: 10-19a and John 1: 35-51)  Also when I say “this” at the beginning I refer to the church building! Is Jacob responsible for all this? Would we have avoided English Heritage without him setting up the stone that had been under his head as a memorial that God ... Read the whole sermon

• Christians and the Community. Sermon 28th February, St Mary’s, Breamore

  Today we are being asked to consider the relationship between Christians and the Community. Socrates apparently once said: “The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing”. Donald Rumsfeld, one time American Secretary of State for Defence took this a stage further and said: “Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on the Second Sunday in Lent. 2016.

  Christianity and Politics don’t mix! How many times have we heard this? The Church is like the Tory Party at prayer, I have heard said! The theme of this morning’s sermon is clearly a contentious one. If you have brick bats please may I have them at the end of the service where I will be happy to take them ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on the First Sunday in Lent. 2016.

  What do the following have in common -connections, sequences, connecting wall and missing vowels? Yes, they are part of BBC 4’s quiz programme ‘Only Connect’ compeered by Victoria Creswell. Teams are pitted against one another to find connections from various clues. The name of the programme is related to a famous saying by the 19th century author E. M. Forster ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached on the last Sunday before Lent at the Sandleheath Uniting Church. 2016.

  “Daddy! Mummy! Grandad! Granny! Lift me up! I want to see!” Those of us who have any contact with children will know the situation in which there is something or someone which the young child cannot see because they are too small or pointing in the wrong direction. The desire is not to miss, to have a glimpse of whatever ... Read the whole sermon

• Christians and Politics – a Lenten Sermon, February 2016

    How do Christianity and politics relate?  How should Christians be involved in politics?  A few thoughts on our engagement with the world around us. You can read the sermon here:  Sermon-Christians & Politics – Gary Philbrick, February 2016 If you’d like to read the Bishops’ Letter I refer to, you can find it here: WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? – April 2015 Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon preached to celebrate Epiphany on the occasion of the visit of the Keble Choir at St. Mary’s, Fordingbridge on Saturday, 9th January 2016.

  Are you a fan of Reality TV? I wonder what ‘Unreality TV’ would look like? What for you is ‘real’?  T. S. Eliot once famously wrote, ‘human kind cannot bear too much reality!’ I know I funk at many opportunities to face reality! I can barely watch the news sometimes-it is too painful. So what does it mean to be real? ... Read the whole sermon

• A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS – A sermon preached in Winchester Cathedral on Sunday, January 17th, 3.30p.m.

  Sermon Title: A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS Preacher: Canon Gary Philbrick, Area Dean of Christchurch, and Priest-in-Charge of the Avon Valley Partnership  Scripture Reference: Isaiah 49:6 Ps 145:1-13 Isaiah 49:1-7 Acts 16:11-15 O God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, shine in our hearts to bring us to the knowledge of your glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. You may ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at Evensong, Epiphany 2, St Mary’s Fordingbridge

  The theme today is very much about gifts and relationships. This morning the gospel was about the wedding at Cana in Galilee when the wine ran out and Jesus produced a miracle – not I might add according to his own wishes but that of his mother, Mary. She knew who he was and what he was capable of but ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at St Giles’ Godshill and St Mary’s Hale, the wedding at Cana

  Most sermons I have heard relating to the wedding at Cana, indeed most I have preached relate to the actual miracle itself but this morning I want to concentrate on relationships. There are a number of relationships in this passage, Jesus to his mother Mary, Mary to the servants, Jesus to the servants, the servants to the steward and then ... Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon for the Baptism Of Jesus, January 10th 2016 preached at St Mary’s Fordingbridge

  What does baptism suggest to you? Give me some words: (Being cleansed, welcomed, under the protection of God, known by God by name, water the sustainer of life). I often think how cocooned we are here against the realities of the world for many people. Yes we have as a community suffered at least two family tragedies in living memory which ... Read the whole sermon

• Christmas Eve, Midnight 2015 – hope, St Mary’sFordingbridge

  I wonder what brought you here tonight. What brings us to places like this week by week or just now and again? Is it perhaps because we feel safe? Of course it may be that it’s just on the way home from the pub and if that’s the case you are just as welcome. Or just maybe it is ... Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on the Third Sunday in Advent , 2015.

  A Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge on the Third Sunday in Advent , 2015. A glance at the TV screens this week has brought home in a dramatic way the need for agreements in Paris on global warming and climate change. The protracted negotiations for such an agreement also spell the costliness of such change which is required to ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon preached at Sandleheath Uniting Church, John the Baptist teaches the people a lesson about generosity and care, Advent 3

  Both of today’s readings are about being prepared for the coming of Christ, a subject I spent quite a while on two weeks ago so this week I thought I would spend a bit more time on the first 8 verses which are to be honest quite frightening. The people of Israel are not behaving well, not for the first ... Read the whole sermon

• Can we save rural churches from closure?

  Can we save rural churches from closure? Summary In recent weeks, media coverage has described rural clergy as ‘close to drowning’ under the pressure of maintaining medieval buildings with dwindling congregations. With the Church of England carrying out a series of reviews and consultations as part of its ‘reform and renewal’ programme – will we see rural churches closing or are rural communities ready and ... Read the whole sermon

• A Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Hale. On the second Sunday in Advent, 2015.

  I spent the inside of last week with my friend and colleague Peter Murphy at the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. Ostensibly, we were there on a nostalgic visit re-visiting a Hostel in Leeds also attached to the Community where we started our theological training some 50 years ago. We took the opportunity to re-visit the Hostel ... Read the whole sermon

• Fear and Hope – A Sermon for Advent Sunday

  29/XI/15 Advent I 10.00, All Saints’, Mudeford – Year C FEAR & HOPE Reflections on the facing fear, living in hope, and the response to the Parish bombings.  Jeremiah 33:14-16; I Thess 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Lord, open your Word to our hearts this Advent, and our hearts to your Word always. AMEN. In our three-year cycle of readings, today we begin year C, the year ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon: Preparing for Christ’s coming using the Jesus Prayer, Advent Sunday 2015 at Fordingbridge and Sandleheath.

  If you are sitting comfortably I will begin, for this morning I may be a little longer than I usually am. And that’s my subject – time. Does it rule your life? Do you get up at a set time, have your lunch at a set time my grandma did, lunch at 12, tea at 4, go to bed at a ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon for the Feast of Christ the King on 22nd November 2015 at Fordingbridge.

  Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church, Fordingbridge for the Feast of Christ the King on 22nd November 2015. Play “All you need is love” by the Beatles. “All you need is love”. It is extraordinary that having chosen to use this song before the attacks in Paris it should be preceded by an excerpt of the Marseilleuse, the French National Anthem. I ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon All Souls’ Day Fordingbridge 1 November 2015

  Sermon preached at St. Mary’s Church,  Fordingbridge for All Souls Day on 1St November 2015. Each of us this evening has come with a story or several stories in our hearts. Those stories are many and varied and tell of the lives of those we love but see no longer. You may think they are ordinary stories of ordinary lives-yes they ... Read the whole sermon

• Sermon: Christ the Sunday, November 22nd, 2015 – Launch of the Partnership Action Plan

  Gary’s sermon at Woodgreen (10.00a.m.)and Fordingbridge (6.30p.m.) To see the Partntership Action Plan – click here: AVP Action Plan 7.4 Readings: A.m.: Rev 1:4b-8, Jn 18:33-37 P.m.: Ps 72:1-7, Dan 5, Jn 6:1-15 LAUNCH OF OUR pMAP – A CALL TO PRAYER AND ACTION Lord God, take my words and speak through them, take our minds and think through them, take our hearts and set them on fire ... Read the whole sermon

• Winchester Cathedral Ordination of Priests Sermon

  The sermon preached by Abbot Stuart Burn at the ordination of priests on Saturday July 4th, 2015, at Winchester Cathedral is available on the cathedral website – here. This was the service at which our Assistant Curates Revd Rachel Noël and Revd Nicky Davies were both ordained priest. Read the whole sermon

• Tracy Robinson’s Sermon – 12th July 2015

  The sermon preached by Revd Tracy Robinson at St Mary’s Church Hale, 12th July, 2015, on the occasion of Rev’d Nicky Davies presiding at the Eucharist for the first time. Tracy Sermon Read the whole sermon