Calling all Hooky Christians!

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It is an interesting static that out of the 2,500 or so folk living in Hook Norton, only around 2% regularly worshipped in the two Christian churches in the village; St Peter's church and the Baptist church, pre-Covid-19 lockdown! According to the 2011 census, 60% of the population identified as Christian, and yet less than 6% regularly attended church at least once a week, if you believe Wikipedia. So using that statistic, I have been wondering, where do the other 4% of Hooky Christians [Read more...]

The need!

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This whole thing started when I first took up my ministry at Hook Norton Baptist Church. When I came to the church to preach, years before I was called as pastor, my first impression of the church was very positive; the welcome, the fellowship, their authenticity and their love for God. My impression of the chapel was less positive! The chapel was built in the late 1700s as a simple "meeting room" with an open space on the ground floor and a gallery at the west end of the chapel. It would [Read more...]

Amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill

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ID 93826362 © Cornelius20 | Dreamstime.com I have sent a letter to my MP, Victoria Prentis, urging her to oppose the amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill. This amendment before the House this week, will allow abortions up to 28 weeks for ANY reason, further weakening the protection of the unborn child. The bible tells us that God "knew us in our mother's womb" (Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:16, Isaiah 49:5), indicating that our soul , our very essence, was alive and kicking before we were born! [Read more...]

Church Services to restart Sunday 19th July

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Following the relaxation of the Covid-19 lock-down restrictions and following advice from HM Government and the Baptist Union of Great Britain, we are delighted to announce our intention to re-open for corporate worship on Sunday 19th July at 10:30am. Meanwhile, we continue to publish virtual services on our YouTube channel each Sunday. The services will be different from the past as we abide by the guidelines given so, initially, there will be no singing, but plenty of worship. You will [Read more...]

Leaders to consider the re-opening of the chapel for corporate worship

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The Leaders are meeting on Friday to consider the reopening of the chapel for corporate worship on Sundays. They will review the guidelines from HM Government and further advice from the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The Leadership are aware that a number of our friends will feel not be able to attend due to ongoing shielding, so they will consider whether the services can be broadcast live over the Internet or recorded for online viewing afterwards. Their decision will be published [Read more...]

There, but for the grace of God …

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During the Covid-19 lock-down I have been watching the daily government briefing from 10 Downing St. I have to say, I find the reporting of statistics and developments and actions very interesting and imformative, but one thing that really gets up my nose is the journalists questions! The questions from the public are far more relevant and interesting because they actually reflect what people want to know! After those questions have been answered, I tend to turn the TV off! I have managed [Read more...]

Good News – Chapel open for private prayer!

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We are please to announce that the chapel is now open for private prayer. Please use the hand sanitiser as you enter and leave the building. If someone else is in the chapel when you visit, please abide by the current social distancing rules and respect the peace and quiet of this prayer space. If you are not a member of the church but would like to visit the chapel to pray privately, please do contact Pastor Pete (details on the website) who will only be too pleased to let you in. [Read more...]

Black Lives Matter

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I was disgusted and angry over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota on 25th May 2020. He was killed at the knee of a police office using unreasonable force to detain George, and despite George crying out "I can't breathe!" the officer continued to kneel on him for over eight minutes. Another two officers were restraining George with yet another preventing the crowd from intervening. I can understand the anger of the crowd seeing police officers using unreasonable force to restrain a [Read more...]