Two of the most important ways we engage with our faith is through study and prayer. We believe these are fundamental if we are to grow in our faith, and become a better and better Christian as we live the faith out day by day. Many Christians therefore choose to read the Bible and pray in the privacy of their own homes, often on a daily basis, and the Vicar is always pleased to be able to offer advice if this is something you want to begin. However, it’s also important that study and prayer also take place in the context of the church community, which is why we put on regular groups throughout the year. 
We’re hoping to develop these over the next few years into a more regular pattern, but so far we have concentrated on offering short courses at Advent, Lent and in the summer. Recent topics have included ‘Uncovering the Mystery’, a course on the liturgy and our role within it, ‘Word becomes Flesh’, a course on how we are called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, and ‘The House of the Lord’, a course on how we can use the Temple as a key to understand the story given to us in the Scriptures. These courses, together with sermons preached at sung masses, aim to take an approach to the faith that draws from Scripture, Tradition and the church’s teaching, and makes all of that relevant as we seek to live that faith out in today’s world. Sessions are usually held at both churches – St Peter’s on Wednesday evenings, and St John’s on Friday mornings – to cater for all requirements. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter or subscribe to our mailing list to find out about the latest courses on offer.
The parish also has a long-standing tradition of making pilgrimage to various sites and shrines in England, as well as abroad. There is a regular parish pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk, which takes place one weekend each year, and members of the parish have also attended the National Pilgrimage in the late May Bank Holiday. In September 2017 we also made our first pilgrimage to the St Cuthbert Translation Festival in Durham Cathedral. Pilgrims from Horbury have also made journeys further afield, to Assisi, Venice and the Holy Land.
