All posts by Pete Dibdin

Looking back on the Week of Prayer 2025

“At the end of the 2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we thank the Lord for the unity in the Holy Spirit between Christians within our local churches. It was a joy to meet, worship and pray together throughout the week, as we reflected on the words of the Nicene Creed penned 1,700 years ago and explored the daily Go and Do  prompts encouraging us to make a difference in the world we live in today. Thank you to Horsham United Reformed Church, St John the Evangelist, Cornerstone St Andrews and Trafalgar Road Baptist Church for hosting and leading the meetings during the week.

The United Service is available to watch online, and includes sharing the light of Jesus with others, symbolised by everyone lighting candles. Thank you to St Margaret’s Warnham for leading the service and St Mary’s Church Horsham for hosting.

We also thank Horsham Eco Churches and Sussex Green Living for leading a reflective service as part of the Sussex Green Hub, which takes place on the last Saturday of every month at Horsham United Reform Church. In the midst of this hive of eco activity, the service provided the space to creatively thank the Lord for the wonders of creation, to celebrate the ways in which churches are working in active partnership with Sussex Green Living and to consider different ways in which we can be good stewards of the world.

The week ended with high-energy praise and worship, led by the Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda. Thanks to Kingdom Faith Church for hosting the evening, and to everyone who hosted choir members in their own home. If you enjoyed their music, you can listen to their playlist on YouTube, or search for “Watoto” on your favourite music streaming service.

The Week of Prayer may be over, but our prayers for Horsham District continue, as we lift up our local neighbourhoods before the Lord and pray for many more lives to be transformed through an encounter with Jesus.

P.S – Don’t forget to put the next HCT Prayer & Worship evening in your diaries – 6pm on Sunday 16th March at Kingdom Faith Church”.

Pete Dibdin, HCT Development Co-Ordinator

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity starts on Saturday 18th January 2025, full of opportunities for us to join together in prayer and worship. The overarching theme for the week is “Do you believe this?”, marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. Details of the week are as follows, with publicity material for you to share below.

 Saturday 18th January 2025, 10:30am
Morning Prayer Meeting at Horsham United Reformed Church, RH12 2RG

Sunday 19th January 2025, 6pm
United Service at St Mary’s, Horsham, RH12 1HE
The service this year will be led by St Margaret’s, Warnham

Monday 20th January 2025, 7:30pm
Evening prayer meeting at St John the Evangelist, RH12 2PJ

Wednesday 22nd January 2025, 7:30pm
Evening prayer meeting at Cornerstone Methodist Church – St Andrews, RH12 4DX

 Friday 24th January 2025, 1:30pm
Afternoon prayer meeting at Trafalgar Road Baptist Church, RH12 2QL

Saturday 25th January 2025, 11.30am
Caring for Creation Together – a reflective service with Eco Churches & Sussex Green Living, during the Sussex Green Hub at Horsham United Reformed Church, RH12 2RG

Sunday 26th January 2025, 6pm
SOLD OUT.
Watoto Children’s Choir performing “Better Days” – an uplifting concert of praise, dance & storytelling at Kingdom Faith Church, RH13 5PX. Free tickets are available from www.kingdomfaith.com/watoto.

 Week of Prayer Publicity and Resources

Watoto Children’s Choir 2025

!!! SOLD OUT !!!
The Watoto Children’s Choir are back in Horsham with their uplifting performance of “Better Days!”. Get ready for an unforgettable time of vibrant music, powerful dance, and heartfelt stories of resilience and hope. Come and witness first hand these incredible young voices, as they share their journey through music that will touch your heart and lift your spirits.
When: Sunday 26 January 2025 18:00 – 19:15 GMT
Where: Kingdom Faith Church, Foundry Lane Horsham RH13 5PX
Tickets: Book your free tickets at http://kingdomfaith.com/Watoto

 

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be taking place between 18th and 25th January 2025. We’ll announce the full line up of events after Christmas, but we thought you might like a sneak peek at some of the events taking place during the week.

Saturday 18th January 2025, 10:30am
Morning Prayer Meeting at Horsham United Reformed Church, RH12 2RG

Sunday 19th January 2025, 6pm
United Service at St Mary’s, Horsham, RH12 1HE
Led by St Margret’s, Warnham

Monday 20th January 2025, 7:30pm
Evening prayer meeting at St John the Evangelist, RH12 2PJ

Wednesday 22nd January 2025, 7:30pm
Evening prayer meeting at Cornerstone Methodist Church – St Andrews, RH12 4DX

Friday 24th January 2025, 1:30pm
Afternoon prayer meeting at Trafalgar Road Baptist Church, RH12 2QL

Carols in the Carfax 2024

On Saturday 14th December 2024, over a hundred people gathered in Horsham town centre for Carols in the Carfax,  led by Horsham Churches Together. It was a wonderful opportunity to worship Jesus through singing carols, telling the Christmas story and sharing the Good News of Jesus’ birth in the heart of a busy market.

The Slinfold Concert Band led the music, with everyone singing along with their festive favourites, including O Come all ye faithful, While shepherds watched their flocks by night and Joy to the world. Steve Fishpool from the Christian Life Centre gave a short gospel talk, inviting us to know Jesus in our lives this Christmas.

Special thanks to all those who took part in the service, to all our volunteers who helped throughout the day, to the musicians of the Slinfold Concert Band and to High Gain Event Services CIC for providing the PA.

Carols in the Carfax

Carols in the Carfax
Horsham Churches Together Carols in the Carfax, with the Slinfold Concert Band, on the Carfax bandstand. Starting with festive music from 11am, with the carol service from 11:30am to 12:15pm with singing, Bible readings, and a gospel talk, followed by more festive music until 1pm.

 

Carol Singing Lantern Parade

Carol Singing Lantern Parade at the Horsham Launch Party
Friday 22nd November 2025, starting at 5pm outside St Mary’s, Causeway, walking through the Forum, West Street, Bishopbric and Carfax, ending at 5:45 pm in the old Market Square, just in time for the countdown to switch on Horsham town’s Christmas tree lights.

Later in the evening, from 7.30pm till 8pm, the Trinity Church Players Choir will be singing carols around the Christmas Tree in Piries Place.

Visit the Horsham District Council’s website for the full lineup of events, including music,  street performers, food and late-night shopping!

 

Worship & Prayer in the Park

Worship & Prayer in the Park was planned for 8th September 2024 in the Human Nature Garden in Horsham Park. Unfortunately, due to a MET Office yellow weather warning of heavy rain, the decision was taken to move indoors to Kingdom Faith Church in Foundry Lane, Horsham. However, as the words of the opening song reminded us, “You’ve been faithful through every storm”1. Around 140 people gathered together, praising the Lord, praying to Jesus and proclaiming the good news of the gospel.

1 Great Things by Phil Wickham

Worship & Prayer July 2024

Over a hundred people from different churches across Horsham District gathered together for this evening’s Worship & Prayer event, organised by Horsham Churches Together.

We prayed for growth as disciples and togetherness as believers. We prayed in prophetic expectation of what God will do through His Holy Spirit here in the Horsham District, inviting people into a living relationship with Jesus. And at the end of the academic year, we prayed for children, students and staff who work in education.

The next HCT Worship & Prayer event will be on Sunday 8th September in the Human Nature Garden at Horsham Park – bring a picnic from 4pm, with the main event from 5pm til 6pm.

An amazing day out at the Funday Sunday

Despite a few heavy rain showers, we had an amazing day at the Funday Sunday in Horsham Park, organised by the Horsham Rotary Club. At the Horsham Churches Together stall, we offered free children’s crafts, gave away Bible story booklets and talked with people in our community. We also had a prayer tree where people were invited to write a name on a ribbon before tying it to the tree.

A big thank you to the volunteers Life Community Baptist, Holy Trinity Horsham and St Mary’s who helped run the stall, along with Jon White (Trafalgar Road Baptist), Michael Hogg (Brighton Road Baptist) and Rachel Abbot (Salvation Army).