Governance

Governance is a term used to describe the trustees’ role in:

overseeing the long-term direction of the charity, including its objectives or purposes
implementing policies and activities to achieve objectives
complying with legal requirements
being accountable to those with an interest or 'stake' in the charity.

Good governance should happen throughout a charity. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is ultimately responsible for our governance, but it relies on many different people to be able to govern well: staff, volunteers, advisors and stakeholders.

Our policies underpin and enable good governance, ranging from safeguarding to finance, computer & data security to food, health & safety to press-handling and security to human resources ... and many more! If you wish to see any of our policies, please contact the church office.

You can view our annual reports, accounts, a list of current trustees and other information on the Charity Commission website (opens in new tab) - search for charity number 1174914.

Several of our key financial and administrative policies are owned and implemented by our finance team, whose members are:

Rob Allen
Martin Bone (stewardship recorder)
Connor Carey
Jackie Gwilliam (cash team)
Linda Humble
Mike Parry (treasurer and finance team leader)
Karen Petch (bookkeeper)

All volunteer in their finance role; Rob, Connor, Linda and Mike are PCC members i.e. trustees of the charity.

Across the team, we have broad experience gained through working for and/or with charities, banks, businesses and HM Revenue & Customs. The PCC is accountable to the Diocese of Chichester and the Charity Commission for the sound financial management of the church’s assets and the control of its income and expenditure, with day-to-day responsibility delegated to the treasurer and the finance team.

Holbrook PCC is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission - number 1174914.
Our Independent Examiner is Morris Palmer Ltd (opens in new tab).

New to St Marks?
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Planning your Visit

New to church?

First of all, a very warm welcome to St Mark's! We're really glad you're thinking of coming and hope you'll find a real home and community with us.

The heart of what we do is our faith in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We come together on Sundays to praise our Lord through singing and prayer and to learn more about Him through exploring the Bible. As a body of believers, we seek to live out our faith by helping and serving other people however we can.

Sunday services

At 8:30am we have a Holy Communion service with formal structure, liturgy and organ music from the Church of England tradition.
At 10:30am we have an informal service with a contemporary music group, a flexible structure, in-depth Bible teaching and Holy Communion once a month.
At 7:00pm on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month (except August and December) there is an informal Café Praise service.

Where?

The church is located at the corner of North Heath Lane and St Mark's Lane. The address is St Mark's Lane, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 5PU. There is a car park immediately adjacent to the church in St Mark's Lane which you are welcome to use.

We meet in the church building for our Sunday services. For your first visit, we recommend arriving a little early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you will be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be able to help you. Do make yourself known to us!

Plan your journey

For SatNav directions, the church postcode is RH12 5PU. Open Google Maps to plan your journey.
The number 200 bus run by Metrobus stops at Amundsen Road, near to the church.
The nearest train station is Littlehaven, which is 15 minutes walk away.

Accessibility

St Mark's church and hall are fully wheelchair-accessible with level access from our car park which includes several disabled parking bays. We have toilet facilities for wheelchair users in the church and hall. An induction loop (T loop) is fitted in the church for hearing aid users.

Youth and Children

Children’s groups take place on most Sunday mornings during our 10:30am service and are available for children from pre-school to Year 11.

Children stay with their parent or adult at the start of the service for the welcome and songs. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. The leader will announce when it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy. Go to the back of the church and there will be someone there to show you the way.

Mini-Marks is also held monthly on a Wednesday from 12:45pm-3:00pm. It's a relaxed friendly event, for all under 5s with their parents, grandparents and carers, including a buffet lunch.

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Prayer

Prayer requests can be put in the prayer request box on the welcome table, or if urgent please email the church office.
Prayer ministry is offered both during and after our 10:30am Sunday morning service.
Momentum is our fortnightly meeting of prayer and reflection on Mondays from 8:00-9:00pm, when we pray for our church and community.

Pastoral Support

If you are unwell, lonely, bereaved or just finding life a bit too much to handle, we have a team of people always ready to listen and support you.

What else is on?

Home Groups: a number of different groups meet throughout the week.
Holbrook Heart is our café open from 10:00am-12:00pm every Tuesday and also once a month on the 4th Saturday
Alpha is a course for people wishing to explore the Christian faith.
Various social events take place throughout the year.

Local community

Serving our community is one of our top priorities and we do this in a variety of ways. We host an annual fun day on the church lawns and hold various special services throughout the year, to which everyone is welcome. In addition, we support the local foodbank and night shelter as well as being committed to caring for the environment through our Eco Church team.

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Vicar		Associate Vicar
Tim Stilwell		Simon Shorey

You will be assured of a warm welcome at our active and growing church which serves the communities of Holbrook and Mowbray. We hope that, whoever you are, you will feel at home here.

Best wishes
Tim & Simon