Church Community

Alresford Methodist Church was one of the founder members of Churches Together In Alresford (CTIA). A covenant to "make visible the common mission of our Churches to the people of Alresford" was first entered into by the participating churches in 1991. The following updated version of the covenant was signed at a joint service on 19^th January 2019.

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN ALRESFORD - COVENANT

We the members of the undersigned Churches in and around New Alresford:-

DECLARE our common belief in one God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit has called us to work together and we now declare our readiness to commit ourselves under God in a renewal of our local Covenant.

WE GIVE THANKS for all that we have in common and repent of all that may be sinful in our divisions.  We seek a fuller unity and deeper understanding based on the richness of our diverse traditions.

WE THEREFORE COVENANT with each other to make visible the common mission of our churches by:-

Working together for the reconciliation and unity of the whole church in our land and throughout the world,

Working together for the spread of the Gospel,

Meeting together in prayer, worship and study, and to share joy through fellowship,

Caring for each other across denominational boundaries,

Sharing together in service to the community and the world in the name of our Lord,

Publicly bearing witness to our Faith,

When contemplating a new initiative, to discuss with each other whether it could, in the spirit of this covenant, be better done together.

WE INVITE OTHER Christian churches and groups to join us in any subsequent renewal of this Covenant.

IN TOKEN OF THIS COVENANT we commend each other to the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

CTIA currently comprises:

• Alresford Methodist Church
• St Gregory the Great, Alresford (Roman Catholic)
• Arle Valley Benefice (Anglican) represented by the churches of St John the Baptist, New Alresford and St Mary, Old Alresford

CTIA organises and supports a number of events during the year including:

• Good Friday Walk of Witness followed by coffee and hot cross buns in the community centre.
• Lent groups.
• Carol singing both in the town and at some of the sheltered housing in the town.
• Annual weekend away which has been held in Bournemouth in recent years.
• Fund raising and social events to support a charity which we choose every two years.  At the moment we are supporting Winchester Youth Counselling. Prior to this we raised money for Firefly International.
• A Boxing Day Walk.
• Collecting for Christian Aid.
• Thy Kingdom Come
• Support for children’s summer holiday club.
• Participating in Rotary Internationals annual shoe box appeal.
• Alresford Basics Bank.
• We started support for Christians Against Poverty (CAP) in late 2018 as the sponsoring body for Clare Pinniger and Suzanne Hodnett who are beginning to build a local presence for CAP.