St Peter's Yaxley

…reaching out in love and faith

Project Update

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This month feels like a good opportunity to update everyone on the planned building works at St. Peter’s Church.

As many of you will be aware the church is planning to include an extra room upstairs, with a servery below. This work will provide additional space in the church and a servery area much more suited to the community’s needs. It will also allow for the addition of two more toilets. If you would like to view the plans, they are currently on display at the back of the church.

At the time of writing, we have received approval for the structural works and have gone out to tender. We are awaiting quotes from five companies which are due back in early February. Following this we will seek ecclesiastical approval from the Diocese and then we can begin to look at dates for the work to commence. Building works will not affect any weddings currently booked into the church.

Talking of weddings, we’d like to wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day and congratulate any couples who have recently got engaged. This month always carries a big focus on love which can stir up a variety of emotions for people; we encourage you to celebrate this day as a reminder of God’s great love for us and ‘Let all that you do, be done with love’ 1 Corinthians 16:14.

If you’ve been thinking of coming along to church recently, we’d like to invite you to one of our services. On Sundays we have services at 9am, 11am and 7pm*; there’s something for everyone, come along, just as you are, and someone will be there to welcome you.
You can find details of all our services, groups and events on our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.

God Bless,
St. Peter’s Church

lauraashley@saintpeters.co.uk
07939 449255

*Evening services take place on the 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month (3rd Sunday of the month is currently a film night)

Unexpected generosity of infinite value

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I wonder if you are annoyed when you travel on the bus or train by other people talking very loudly on their phones?

Well, making a phone call on the train had an unexpectedly positive outcome for a student recently. She was on the phone to her mother and crying about the amount of debt she was in. She had given up her part-time job in order to concentrate on her studies and was struggling to make ends meet. At the end of the call she fell asleep. When she woke up she found 5 x £20 notes folded under her napkin. Another passenger had heard her phone call and left the money for her anonymously. The student launched a Facebook campaign to try to find the generous passenger. I don’t know if she has managed to find them.

What an amazing act of generosity and giving with no expectation of gaining anything in return by her fellow passenger. At the end of this month we commemorate the generosity and self-giving of Jesus on the cross and we celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday. When he rose from the dead Jesus folded up his grave clothes and left them in the grave. The student found £100 under her folded napkin. If we look beneath the folded grave clothes at the reality of what lies behind them we can discover something of infinite value – not in monetary terms, but in terms of everlasting life.

As I said, I don’t know if the student has found her benefactor. If you would like to find out more about the one who has bought you eternal life, why not join us at a service over Easter? Our main services at St. Peter’s on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday are at 11.00am. For details of our other services, please take a look at our events calendar. Alternatively, give me a call on the number below. Similarly, if you don’t live in Yaxley and cannot find the times of services in your local church, please contact us and we’ll put you in touch with your local church.

With my prayers that you might find the eternal life Jesus has won for you this Easter.

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

Read this article in the Yaxley Gazette.

You have a reserved seat

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Returning from a recent trip to London, I got into a carriage on the train where virtually every seat was reserved.

However, as the train left King’s Cross, it soon became apparent that a huge number of people had not got on the train to claim the seats that they had reserved.

At Christmas, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and the time Jesus came to begin his journey on earth. Of course, towards the end of that journey, Jesus died on the cross before he rose again and returned to heaven. Through his death on the cross Jesus has ‘reserved everyone a seat on the train’ to everlasting life. My prayer this Christmas is that we would all claim the seat which Jesus has reserved for us and celebrate accordingly.

If you would like to journey with us this Christmas, please join us for one or more of our services. Services well-suited to families with children are marked with a 🙂

Sat Dec 2nd 10.00am Christmas Fayre 🙂
Sun Dec 3rd 11.00am All-Age Nativity Service 🙂
Sun Dec 10th 4.00pm Christingle Service 🙂
Fri Dec 15th 9.30am SPARKS Christmas Party 🙂
Sun Dec 17th 7.00pm Carol Service – with Mulled Wine & Mince Pies
Wed Dec 20th 7.30pm Beer & Carols – at the Three Horseshoes Pub
Christmas Eve 4.00pm Crib Service 🙂
11.00pm Midnight Communion
Christmas Day 9.00am Holy Communion
10.00am Christmas Celebration 🙂

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas!

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

Read this article in the Yaxley Gazette.