Holbrook Community Orchard

In support of our climate change initiatives, as we journey towards an Eco Church gold award, we applied to Horsham District Council for a Community Climate Fund grant for a community orchard within the church gardens.

Project aims and environmental benefits

Plant fruit trees to increase carbon storage and provide free fruit for our local community.
Help local children plant spring bulbs, create a wildflower meadow, bug hotel and butterfly feeder to increase and learn about biodiversity.
Recycle food scraps and garden waste in a Hotbin to minimise waste and produce good compost faster.
Collect rainwater in water butts to reduce water consumption.
Invite everyone to spend time in St Mark's gardens and journey through a nature trail including Horsham Riverside Walk.

Project Update

Brighton Permaculture Trust are advising us and will help us plant and care for rare Sussex varieties of fruit trees in March 2024.
We planted a hedgerow to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. A bug church was built by one of our young people and populated by some children from our Mini-Marks group. We joined No Mow May; apart from mowing paths and the Garden of Remembrance, this year there will be more mown paths and a sign.
Two Hotbins compost food and garden waste in the church and vicarage gardens.
We created a wildlife pond and connected two large water butts to the church roof and one to the large shed. We plan to connect the shed overflow to a rain garden.
We created a Psalm 23 Nature Trail and a hedgehog highway connecting the church and vicarage gardens. Our vicar and his family cared for two rescued hedgehogs released in the vicarage garden. We plan to create a 'no dig plot' to demonstrate how you can grow food in a small space.

Volunteers from our church and community are welcome to help with our community orchard project. Please contact St Mark’s Eco Church Champion Karen Park or the church office if you wish to volunteer in any way or need more information.

New to St Marks?
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New to St Marks? Click Here

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