St. Thomas' is the Anglican or Church of England Parish for the communities of Longford and Hawkesbury. In terms of Geography the parish is quite large but being on the edge of Coventry much of the pasrih for the time being at least is made up of fields.
The Parish is obviously within the Diocese of Coventry and is actually in Coventry North Deanery.
Our worship might best be described as modern catholic although terms like that can often be both offputting and misleading. Our main Sunday morning Mass hopefully reflects something of the mystery and majesty of Almighty God. The Mass is the central act of worship for the Christian Church and as a result it is celebrated daily in the parish. You can find details of times by following the links to the left.
Various courses have been run throughout the churches year. These have included courses on the first chapter of John's Gospel, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and recently a course on the art of prayer. In preperation for Christmass we shall have a course on Paul's letter to the Roman's.
St. Thomas' has also started recently taking weekend pilgirmages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. This is in addition to the Coventry Diocesan day pilrimage. This is a wonderful opportunity for both priest and people to relax, pray and grow in the gift of faith.
Throughout the last twelve months we have also had many other different kinds of services. We have a monthly parade service which is designed specifically with the young in mind. Occasional services have included healing liturgies, Stations of the Cross, Rosary and Benediction, Muiscal Meditations through the Fathers and so on.
St. Thomas' is a parish which is registered with Forward in Faith. She has also passed the Resolutions under the act of Synod, usually referred to as A, B and C.
As such she enjoys alternative episcopal oversight by the Bishop of Ebbsfleet. In no sense however could St. Thomas' be described as "anti-women." The ministry of men and women is fully affirmed in the day to day life of the Church.
However many (although not all,) who worship here find themselves unable to accept the ministry of women as priests. Within the Church of England and indeed the universal church this is a matter which will still require much prayer and mutual respect on both sides of the debate.
As Christians we believe that all of us are not quite the people we could or indeed should be. A perfect world is still very much a pipe dream.
But there is hope. Jesus entered into the mess of what it means to be human. He took on his own self a mortal human body and died an unthinkable death on the cross.
To many that is idiocy, but to the Christian it is the source of all our hope. God loved us, and because of that love he sent Jesus to share in human weakness, to die that we might have life with God as he intended.
It is our mission at St. Thomas' to be living embodiments of that hope, to see in everyone someone for whom Christ died, and to point away from human sinfulness to the things of God.
First and foremost our desire for God is expressed in our worship. Yet that is only the start. We seek to display that love in the way we live our lives, lives of service, lives which are being saved through the cross of Christ.