Minister: Rev Steve Hawkes 01722 334833  

Senior Steward: Joy Davey 01980 611857

Services are held each Sunday at 10am with Holy Communion monthly. Occasional services as announced. Please see the church notice board for all details. Information on services can also be found on the Salisbury Methodist Circuit website at

 http://www.salisburymethodistcircuit.org.uk/churches/bourne-valley/

Everyone is welcome to join us.

Dear friends

It hardly seems possible that, at the time of writing, we’re looking towards the season of Advent once again. That time of expectant waiting and preparing for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

Of course, it has to be said that for a good number of people, the run up to Christmas is simply a time to battle their way through the shops, hurriedly buying presents, with no idea of what to buy for friends or family alike. Those gifts will, more than likely, be discarded and thoroughly unappreciated. Then it’s on to buying enough food to feed an army and enough booze to sink a battle ship! By the time Christmas Day arrives, these people are so exhausted, that the day passes in a total blur.

But it is good to remember the miracle of Christmas, the real meaning of God coming to earth as a tiny baby born in a stable in Bethlehem.

I was reading a story a little while ago, that I think is a true story, and it goes like this. The four-year-old son of a missionary family in Africa spotted a picture of a little pink dinosaur in a magazine and set his heart on having one. His mum knew it was impossible (the magazine was three years old), but her son never doubted that God would come through for him. Ten months later, on Christmas Eve, a box from home arrived. At first glance it seemed to contain something special for everyone, except for a four-year-old boy.

Then they reached the bottom and they were stunned. The lady who sent the box had no way of knowing God would use her to answer a little boy’s prayer. Before taping up the box, at the last minute, she tossed in the one item impossible for his parents to provide – something so insignificant no rational adult would ever have been foolish enough to ask God for…a pink plastic brontosaurus from a fast-food restaurant promotion!

So, is that a true story? Well, I think it is because it said that it was, but I can only believe that through faith, I can’t prove it in a scientific way. In my role as a part-time chaplain at the hospital in Salisbury, I sometimes have conversations with those who tell me that they have absolutely no belief that God exists at all. And my reaction is pretty much the same. I believe, through faith that God exists, that Jesus came to this earth as a tiny baby, born in a stable in Bethlehem, and that His love is for all people, but I can’t prove it in a scientific way.

I truly believe that God is interested in every detail of all our lives, and if something is important to us, it’s important to God too.

So, however you engage in the celebration of Christmas and the time leading up to it, I pray that it will be a time of joy and of wonder, and that you have a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful 2022.

Yours in Christ

Rev Steve Hawkes