A Bit About the Haven Benefice
In a world of busyness, change and growing meaninglessness, the Parish churches of Seaview, St Helens, Brading and Yaverland offer a Haven of peace and stability in which to journey through a progressive Christian search for Faith. In order to achieve this we prioritize the following ....
We are committed to maintaining our beautiful historic buildings and sensitively enhancing them so that they remain open for anyone who wishes to enter at any time of the day. We offer rituals of meaning that hold a space for thanksgiving, celebration and mourning, and try and ensure that the baptisms, blessings, weddings and funerals are personal and relevant. We like to work with parishioners to help them craft these ceremonies so that they are contemporary and meaningful. We prioritize pastoral care and acting with compassion in our communities.
We understand our role in the community as one of Serving and Blessing.
We understand that we are just temporary stewards of these holy places and respect the traditions of the historic church. We offer services on a Sunday from the Book of Common Worship, many of which are sung communions. Our clergy and choir are robed for these services and our tradition is middle Anglican. In addition to our Sunday services we have week day communions that are quiet and more informal, and a Thursday evening contemplative prayer gathering that draws on the ancient monastic traditions of silent meditation and contemporary understandings of the mind and human thriving.
We understand our worship as inspiring to live life in all its fullness.
We are passionate about being relevant to present day society and in developing new ways in which the teaching and life of Jesus can be visualized in an increasingly secular society. We understand that much of the language, theology and imagery of the historic church has little resonance with contemporary society and the culture of younger generations. We are moving forward with progressive theology and looking at ways in which science, philosophy, psychology and politics impact the historic beliefs of the church. We are open and inclusive, and see God as manifest in all things, present and active. We are comfortable with interfaith dialogue and respect other faith traditions and believe in working with all people of good faith towards a world infused with peace and love. We are committed to working for a society of justice and especially for environmental healing worldwide and on our Island.
We understand our Faith as developing and moving forward into new expressions of belief centred on the Life and Teachings of Jesus and God present in all creation.