St Peter's Yaxley

…reaching out in love and faith

The Light in the Darkness

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Christmas! One of the first indications we are nearing the big day is the appearance of lights. Fairy lights on trees, lights outside houses, candles in windows, shopping centre lights. Perhaps this all helps to brighten the darkest time of year in Europe.

When we walk into a room, we can’t do anything until we turn on a light. For many this time of year can be difficult. Turning on a light reminds them of relatives or friends no longer present, reminds them that their circumstances are poor, money is tight and the future looks bleak, it reminds them of their loneliness. We are told that loneliness is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. Dark days may lead to depression which artificial light makes no difference to.

The wonderful thing about Jesus Christ is that His coming into the world brings light and hope. How is that? God has shown up. In an unexpected place; a country under military occupation where there was poverty and oppression, through unexpected people; an awkward family situation with Mary and Joseph unmarried, a difficult start; to become refugees as they fled to Egypt because of a tyrannical king. Why did God do this? Simply because He thought we were worth it. What other king would give up His throne in order to show Himself to us in human form, would be prepared to be vulnerable and experience life with all its difficulties in order to be with us, would offer us a relationship with Him so that we might not be alone and would give us life and hope?

Jesus IS “Immanuel” which means God with us. He IS “The LIGHT in the darkness” John 1:5. Christmas is not just a “once upon a time” story. No, it is Jesus breaking into the world to save us! “Christ the Saviour is born!”

We would love for you to join us at St. Peter’s this Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ our Saviour. With a range of events and services we hope that you will find community, peace and love amongst our church family, and in Jesus Christ.

God Bless,

#followthestar

Rescued by a Refugee

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I wonder if you saw footage or read about the refugee from Mali who rescued a four year old in Paris recently.

The child had been left alone in his fourth floor apartment while his father went shopping. Somehow the boy got out onto the balcony and had climbed over the rail. He was hanging on by his fingertips. Mamoudo Gassama, who is 22, saw the boy and with strength and skill and no regard for his own safety scaled the outside of the building rather like Spider-Man. He reached the balcony where the boy was and Mamoudo pulled him to safety. A large crowd had gathered on the ground and one of them captured the incident on his phone. Footage then went viral.

Mamoudo has been hailed as a hero. He was then invited to meet President Macron who promised him fast track citizenship and a job with the city’s fire department.

Around two thousand years ago another refugee came to rescue the whole of humanity which was, at best, “hanging on by its fingertips”. With no regard for his own safety Jesus allowed himself to be lifted up and nailed to the cross. Soon afterwards having risen from the dead Jesus ascended into heaven to “sit beside the President”. The citizenship won by Jesus however was not for himself but for all who believe and trust in Him. Those who follow Jesus are promised permanent citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

If you feel like you are hanging on by your fingertips or if life has never been better or if you are somewhere in between you are very welcome to join us at St. Peter’s (or your local church) and find out more about the invitation to become a citizen of God’s everlasting Kingdom.

May I invite any primary school aged children to our Big Top Holiday Club from August 28th to 31st. There will be NO clowns. Further details on our website or from our church office (number below).
With my prayers,

Jon
Jon Randall (Vicar) 07939 449255; vicar@saintpeters.co.uk

Together Let’s Build A Community

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This year saw my first experience of Community Sunday and I’m proud to have been part of it.

Arriving in church it was great to see so many adults and children, all in their ‘work clothes’, chatting about what the day may have in store. Some people had even researched how to correctly perform their assigned jobs, now that’s dedication (and also leads me to wonder what we did before Google and You Tube!). Before heading out to our jobs we joined in prayer for everyone involved in the day and also for those who were unable to help.

Armed with a bucket and paintbrush, our team headed out together in search of the fence that needed freshening up. The homeowner was20180513_123739 very grateful to have us there; she clearly took a lot of pride in her garden with various pots of blooming flowers and plants. Painting was something she was no longer able to do, so I was honoured to be able to do this for her. The first task was getting into the paint! Those containers are rather tricky to master but after a blood blister and paint splatter, we were in (who knew that first paint splatter would be the first of many)! Throughout the day we received visitors with gifts of bacon sandwiches and paintbrushes which were greatly received, the tips of how to paint were not, but did provide us with some giggles.

Upon admiring our finished fence, we felt we had more to give. We discussed what else we could do and with permission from the householder, we expanded our brief and painted another two fences. Still not happy that our work was complete and with a bucket of paint left, we once again spoke to the householder who agreed we could also paint her shed! When we left the garden, it was totally transformed and we had one very happy homeowner; it felt fantastic! The day had been a great way to get to know those in my team, and what better way than spilling paint on one another; a good ice breaker if ever you need one! The team worked in very different ways, we had the ‘slap it on the fence’ approach, the ‘fine detailer’, the ‘master shed painter’ and the ‘tidy upper’. We complimented one another perfectly. This was my first experience of painting a fence and despite being paranoid about spilling the paint all over this lovely lady’s garden, I thoroughly enjoyed it due to the company of my team.

20180513_133117The expanding of our brief meant we were the last ones to return to St. Peter’s and so unfortunately, we missed all the other teams returning. It did mean that we got to eat the leftover sandwiches and cakes and we were still served a well earnt cuppa. I also missed the Barbeque, due to family illness. I would have loved to hear all the stories from the day and will definitely be there next year.

I’d like to say thank you to Andy for organising the day; a great deal of time and preparation goes into this event, before, during and after. This day helps many people in different ways; help with jobs that people cannot carry out alone, company for those who may not see anyone at weekends, the church family get a chance to know one another a little better and who knows, for the people we meet and those they tell about us, this day may play a small part in their journey to exploring their faith and ultimately finding Jesus!

It shouldn’t go without saying a big thank you to everyone who took part; whether that be physically on the day, or by making referrals, providing food, taking photos or supplying tools and encouragement. We had 62 volunteers on the day; 39 adults and 10 children out on jobs and 11 support staff. Together we helped build a community, something we should all feel very proud of.

If you have any photos or experiences of Community Sunday you would like to share, please get in touch with me.

God Bless.
Laura Ashley (PCO) 07939 449255, lauraashley@saintpeters.co.uk

Young people taking a lead in mission

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Mission Academy Live_logoThe Talking Jesus research found that one in six of young people wanted to know more when a Christian friend talked to them about Jesus.

In response, the HOPE Revolution Mission Academy Live groups are encouraged to pray for six friends, asking God for opportunities to talk about Jesus with them.

One girl from St. Peter’s Church in the Cambridgeshire village of Yaxley, near Peterborough, is part of a Mission Academy Live group. She has been praying for six of her friends and invited them to a Neon-Glo Party, staged as part of the Mission Academy initiative.

Mission Academy Live is series of 10 innovative, video-based sessions. Each session provides teaching, with time for discussion and testimony in small groups. The focus is on peer to peer evangelism, all leading to a practical response in today’s context. As well as meeting as small groups in villages, towns and cities, they are encouraged to join a Regional Hub.

Regional Hubs are bringing Mission Academy Live groups together for large-scale evangelistic events in 2018. These events – youth fun days, Neon Glo parties, a worship outreach service, or a celebration event – offer the opportunity to celebrate all that God has been doing through the small groups, whilst also providing a large-scale evangelistic event for the young people to invite their six friends.

The Peterborough Hub held a Neon Glo Party in March with music, dancing, and crazy activities, with a guest DJ, glow bar, inflatables, football cage, performances, games, an inspirational message and more.

The girl from St Peter’s Church, Yaxley is part of a group led by Suzanne Delegate, from the church. Suzanne says, “In October we went to the Soul Survivor evening at Kingsgate Community Church in Peterborough, where I heard about Mission Academy Live.”

She signed up and downloaded the six Mission Academy Live films.

“I wanted to share them with our older group” she says. “Unfortunately, most of them were doing exams. So I prayed really hard, as I knew that these films would be so good for our kids. I approached our Vicar and suggested that I do a stand-alone, 10 week session, once a fortnight for our year 7-9s.”

Suzanne led the group with two other leaders. She was thrilled at the response: “The first session I had six young people around a kitchen table sharing hot chocolate and homemade cookies.”

“The feedback from the parents the following Sunday was amazing.”

One parent said that it wasn’t really something that would interest her daughter, but after the group she said: “I don’t know what Suzanne did, but whatever it was she has captured the attention of my daughter. She couldn’t stop talking about the evening.”

Suzanne says, “I only showed the first film and talked about it. Thanks to Mission Academy I have captured the attention of seven young people.”

Pete Skivington, the Youth and Children’s Pastor at Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham, Norfolk, has also been using the Mission Academy Live videos. The groups of three or four watch a video each week, discuss it and pray for their friends, asking God for opportunities to share faith with them.

“The majority of them are needing confidence to talk about their faith,” Pete says. “We have found it really beneficial. You can run it with just a handful of young people. They encourage each other and they are encouraged to know they are part of something bigger up and down the country.”

Roy Crowne, HOPE’s Executive Director says, “Mission Academy Live is ideal for village churches. Three or four young people can watch the videos together and can pray for their friends. The Regional Hubs can organise larger events, which serve the local church with an event individual congregations couldn’t manage.”

To find out more about Mission Academy Live, click here.

A noble spirit ’embiggens’ the smallest man

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Many of you will know that I am a big fan of The Simpsons. Well, the other day I read that a word made up by the writers in 1996 has entered the American dictionary. The word is ‘embiggen’ and means ‘to make bigger’!

It’s used in the motto of Springfield, the town where the Simpsons live. The motto is “A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man”.

We’ve just commemorated Jesus’ death and celebrated his resurrection at the first Easter. Just before he died, Jesus told his friends that it was in their best interests that he returned to heaven. That was because when Jesus returned to heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples and all who believe in Jesus. Why? In order to ‘embiggen’ them and us. One of the many great privileges of believing and trusting in Jesus is that we are embiggened by God’s Holy Spirit. To re-state the Springfield motto: “The Holy Spirit embiggens the smallest person”. However small we might feel, we are able to act powerfully when we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

If you would like to find out more about the God who both loves us and embiggens us, you would be very welcome to attend the Alpha course which starts at St. Peter’s this month. Alpha is an opportunity for you to ask your questions and to explore the basics of the Christian faith. The weekly course is free and starts at 7.30pm on Thursday April 12th. If you would like more details, please contact me using the details below.

You might have read (page 5 of March’s Gazette) that Rev John Harper is running this month’s London Marathon in order to raise funds for Christian Aid. Details of how to sponsor John are in that Gazette article. We pray that God would embiggen John and everyone else running the marathon to raise funds for charities.

With my prayers,

Jon Randall (Vicar) 07939 449255; vicar@saintpeters.co.uk

Read this article in the Yaxley Gazette.