St Peter's Yaxley

…reaching out in love and faith

Our condolences and prayers are with the Royal Family

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Dear Friends,

As I write this, the news is that His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh has died. Much has been said already about his character and his long service to our country and his support of his wife, our Queen. We send our condolences and our prayers are with the Royal Family as they mourn this loss.

This is the statement from The Bishop of Ely:
I express with you my sadness at the death of Prince Philip. We give thanks to God for his life and service. Our hearts and our prayers reach out in sympathy for Her Majesty the Queen in her profound loss after 73 years of loving marriage and shared duty. We pray also for Prince Philip’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

We thank God for the Prince’s deep sense of duty in his support of the Queen and the service of his country. We remember his keen intelligence and wit, his promotion of the initiative and growth of young people through the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, his promotion of new technology and scientific research and his patronage of hundreds of good causes. We also remember his fine record as a serving naval officer and his sporting gifts and passions. We are thankful for his Christian faith and his commitment to clergy support and development through St George’s House at Windsor.

Most of all, we praise God for the example of a person dedicated to his family and its wellbeing over more than seventy years with the joys and the sacrifices which come with such a commitment.

We thank God that Prince Philip now enjoys the fullness of the resurrection life. We pray for Her Majesty that she will know all the consolations of her own deep faith in this time of mourning.

God save the Queen!

Yours ever in Christ, + Stephen Bishop Stephen Bishop of Ely

This month of May has a particular focus of prayer for the church as we approach Ascension to Pentecost – the time when Jesus went to heaven and sent The Holy Spirit. There is a National call to prayer called Thy Kingdom Come. Please join us in praying for our country at this time. We can pray at anytime, anywhere.

Thy Kingdom Come is a line of The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Our village, country and our world continue to need our prayers, do join with us to pray The Lord’s Prayer this month.

With every blessing Rev Sarah 01733 249690/07498 230858

Yaxley Foodbank Annual Report – September 2020

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We have just completed our annual stocktake and I thought it would be a good time to provide an update on your local foodbank.

Firstly, I would like to start with a round of thanks. It hasn’t been an easy time, with some of our volunteers having to temporarily drop off the rota because of age and health shielding concerns. We haven’t forgotten you and would like to welcome you back as soon as is feasible. The remaining volunteers have done a wonderful job continuing to provide a service to those in food crisis since the lockdown in March. Our way of working has had to change in that we are no longer allowed to welcome clients into the building or offer refreshments but we hope the warmth in our welcome remains. We have also developed new patterns of working in the store, which, looking on the bright side, seem to be more efficient than before.

I would also like to thank those groups and individuals who so generously donated to our supplies and to our cash reserves. This has not only enabled us to more than manage the increase in demand, but also to improve the healthy eating options in our provision for clients. Since May we have been issuing £10 Fruit and Veg vouchers that can be redeemed through Kemps, the local Yaxley greengrocer in addition to our standard food parcels. This gives our clients the option to choose fresh produce of their choice to help feed themselves and their families whilst supporting a local small business.

There are specific thanks to the Yaxley Parish Council who continue to support us in many ways and also the East of England Co-operative and Yaxley Co-operative store who support us in food donations. Last Christmas, we were able to donate new toys to the children of the families we support through our Christmas parcels scheme due to the enormous generosity of the East of England Co-operative and their regional customers.

Coming back to our stocktake, the following figures may be of interest to some:
Stock Donated 11,396Kg
Stock Given Out 10103Kg
Food Parcels Issued 243

As you would expect, this is a significant increase of about 25% in both donations and parcels issued on the 2019 figures despite the fact that the summer holiday period was quieter than usual due to the school meal voucher scheme decision. We also expect the coming months to increase demand further as the jobs market starts to tighten significantly. Since lockdown in March we have ceased to request vouchers as we understand that these are not easy to obtain from many of our current voucher holders. Although it is helpful if clients come with a voucher, we do not turn away those in need.

Again, I would like to offer our enormous thanks to all those who have supported us in the past year and we look forward to continuing to help the vulnerable in our community this autumn and beyond into 2021. If you know someone who is in food need, please do not hesitate to encourage them to get in touch with us via email or on the foodbank telephone, 07579825798

Chris & Sue Grant

Annual Report 2019-20

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I am writing this after our sixth Sunday of lockdown when the church left the building due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A strange place for a new Incumbent to be as a virtual Priest in a new Parish! It is however so encouraging to see the Holy Spirit working through the people of God, not just in the building.

Read the full report HERE

The Hope that Easter Brings

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Written at the beginning of March

Dear Friends,

I have lived in lots of different places in my lifetime. All of them have been in this country but all of them have had very different scenery around them from outer London to the Shropshire Hills, Salisbury Plains to the Fens. I am always amazed by the variety and diversity around us in this country let alone the world.

I love this time of year and the beauty around us which I think shows something of the extravagance of God. We might see this in the spring flowers, in the sunset or sunrise (depending if you are a morning person or not!). We might experience it in love and care from friends and family.

Fear is building in our country and our world at the moment, yet our Easter story is one where life overcomes death, where light comes through the dark as Jesus overcomes death and the grave. As we enter April this year, April 12th is Easter Day, when we think about the ultimate new life – the new life that we have received because of the life, the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

Our Easter story of Jesus sharing The Last Supper, going to the cross and rising on that first Easter Day was I am sure a time of so much uncertainty for those first disciples as they saw what their friend went through. Even they thought it was the end, but on that first Easter Day we find those women going to the tomb to find that it was empty – Jesus was not there. They are met by angels telling them “Do not be afraid” and they go and tell Jesus’s friends the message that Jesus was alive. Jesus then came among the disciples and his words to them were “peace be with you”. Jesus ate with them, he talked to them and he walked with them. Jesus had overcome death; he had beaten the darkness and made a new relationship with God for us that we could live with him forever.

Whatever is happening in your life today, whatever fear or worry you might have, I pray that you know again these words of do not be afraid and peace be with you. As we journey through Lent and into Holy Week and await the sunrise on Easter Sunday, I pray you will know this story is for you and for me and for a world full of worry and fear. Jesus overcame the grave to show God’s love, God’s life and God’s light for each one of us. As you look around at the beauty around us, may you feel the joy and the wonder of that first Easter morning, of the hope that Easter brings to us and may you know the blessings and the extravagance of God who loves you, with you this Easter time and always. Join us in our Holy Week preparations and our Easter celebrations.

With every blessing
Rev Sarah

01733 248690 / 07498 230858 / vicar@saintpeters.co.uk

March Talks Available HERE

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Talks are now located within the news section of the website due to technical difficulties with the Talks webpage.

Sunday 8th March 2020

Reading: Genesis 17:15-18:15

Click Here for the talk

 

Sunday 15th March 2020

Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

Click Here for the talk

Click Here for the video shown

 

Sunday 22nd March 2020 – Mothering Sunday

Readings: Exodus 2:1-10 & John 19:25-27

Click Here to listen to the talk or watch the service on our new YouTube Channel!