St Hilda’s is a Forward in Faith Parish in the Diocese of Manchester and under the Pastoral Care of the Bishop of Beverley
OUR MISSION STATEMENT: To love God through the Eucharist, Prayer and the Sacraments. To love and help each other through our shared beliefs, values and sense of community.
Welcome!
It is our hope that you will your visit to this website to be both an interesting and helpful and a means of discovering who we are and what happens at St Hilda, Prestwich. We are a growing church that sits within the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England. Our motto is ‘Faith and Fun’, one that expresses our dual focus of a church with its the heart in the local community. The congregation is open and has a welcome second to none that encompasses all ages and backgrounds, and sets no expectations other than a willingness to embrace the love of God.
Once you have ‘surfed’ the website we hope that you might feel motivated to visit us and to worship Almighty God amongst a congregation who would love to meet you as an individual, or as a family and become part of the family of St Hilda.
We are now in the season of Advent, when we wait with anticipation for the glorious events that are to unfold on the 25thDecember. Emmanuel means God is with us. We will soon all be rejoicing as we celebrate our Saviour coming to earth and being born in a humble stable.
In recent years Advent Calendars have become
very popular; however too often they are simply used as a countdown towards the
secular festivities and the real significance of the word Advent is lost.
Advent
should not be four weeks of counting
down but instead should be four weeks of building up – the readings from the
prophets during this period give a sense of the anticipation of what is to
come. Listen to the joy in the words of Isaiah “Oh people of Sion behold, the
Lord will come to save the nations,” and Zephaniah telling Israel to “shout
aloud, rejoice and exult with all your heart.”
How are we
observing Advent ourselves? Advent is a time for reflection. Are we in our personal lives ready to welcome
the Christ Child?
I hope that
we are all able to look forward with anticipation to a pleasurable time ahead. However
let us spare a thought and a prayer for those for whom, for so many different
reasons, the Christmas season is not a time of enjoyment but one of sorrow and
loneliness.
Let us pray
that everyone may have the Christmas that we wish for ourselves.
