This year the Friends of St.Peter’s will be presenting our lunchtime Concerts. All are welcome and they’re absolutely free!!
Click here for full details and this year’s programme
All posts by Father Michael Camp
It’s Light Party time again
On 31st October, St Peter’s hosted its second LIGHT PARTY. It was a fun, bright and sparkly event. The church was lit with four enormous UV lights, making white or neon colours glow like beacons. Sparkly fairy lights and neon bunting all helped to make the church look beautiful. The North Porch was lit with illuminated balloons and pumpkins, carved with smiley faces and words such as ‘joy’ and ‘love’. Our welcomer at the door had many a chat to passers-by, telling them about the party and inviting them in.
There was lots on offer for children and grown-ups alike. We made candles, paper lanterns, doves and crowns. There was neon face paint, the doughnut-on-a-string game and a prayer candle. There was delicious party food, tea and cake. We danced and boogied to disco music, had a limbo competition (which the three-year olds won) and played musical statues and musical bumps.
This was a wide-reaching community event which needed input from a variety of different people. So thank you if you loaned your fairly lights, baked cakes, helped put on the craft, threaded doughnuts onto string, decorated the church etc. All these jobs really helped it all come together.
A special thank you to Nick Ellis from Holy Angels Lilliput who donated lights, extension leads and carried out the necessary electric tests.
The Centenary Summer Fayre!
The Centenary St.Peter’s Summer Fayre – 9 June 2018. Great weather, great entertainment and a great day for the whole community
100 cakes for 100 years. Thanks to Jo Scroggie, they were great!
Tea and entertainment too. Time for a bop in the tea tent!
Thanks to our Mayor and Town Crier for opening the Fayre for us
See you next year – 8 June 2019
An Evening with Friends
A Craft event for local children
Mothers’ Union hosted a successful new event at St Peter’s centre on Thursday 12th April.
We thought that families might like something fun to do, especially if the holidays hadn’t been sunny (we predicted that one correctly) so we hosted an arty ‘sea adventure’. All ages came together to create; we made all sorts of sea creatures, seaweed, anemones, crustaceans, pebbles and boats and we put everything together onto a big blue sheet for all to see.
It was a great atmosphere. There were delicious home-made cakes, tea and squash to keep us refreshed. And lots of chit-chat as we drew, cut and stuck. Many thanks to all those involved.
A number of people asked us when this is happening again. We would really like to have a re-run but we can’t do it without help! So if you are you a baker, you enjoy arts and crafts, or you are just able to buy some materials (no cost to yourselves) please let Janet Everett know (01202 083245). We look forward to hearing from you!
Easter Garden
Our Easter Garden this year was, to say the least unusual. Following our Lenten focus on the environment our youth group ‘SPY’ created this stunning garden linking the death and resurrection of Christ with our destruction and our hoped for regeneration of the world.
The garden was in two parts with the cross surrounded by waste in one and, in the other a show of natural flowers surrounded by artificial ones made from thrown away tin cans. The natural and the recycled together show us how to care for our common home
Poole Churches’ Refugee Forum
For some time now we have been working together with the other churches of Poole to offer a welcome to refugees and we have managed to place four refugee families in accommodation in the town. We employ a co-ordinator, Anita Dalkin, to manage this work and Anita ensures that the refugees have not only a house but social and spiritual support aswell.
On 23 April we’re holding a refugee forum where we can hear about what has been done and plan for the future.
Click here to book your place through Eventbrite
A Message from our Archbishops
23 March 2018
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
“so, Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…” (John ch. 13 v. 4)
We are writing to you to ask for your prayers as Holy Week begins and as the Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse has finished its hearing into matters in the Diocese of Chichester. Please will you pray this Holy Week especially for all those involved, and for all affected by safeguarding issues.
We want to emphasise the crucial importance for the Church of England to be a safe place for all who join in the worship of the living God, in God’s mission, and in ministry. Clearly, we need to hear what the Inquiry will say when they issue their report, but, we are convinced that there is much we are doing and much we can do better about safeguarding. Thank you for all that you do. As the Archbishop of Canterbury said last week at the hearing, the vast majority of our parishes are safe places and many thousands of people, mainly volunteers, are working hard to ensure church is safe and understand the need for training, good record keeping and are committed to having policies and practices in place and kept under review.
The heart of the Church is in the parishes and other local congregations and we are very grateful to all of you who are working so diligently, right across the Church of England. The work of clergy is very demanding. We give thanks and pray for all of you and for all you do, as we move through this week called Holy. At this season we will welcome many new people and occasional visitors. May we ask you all to consider how we ensure a safe and joyful welcome to all who enter our doors, in particular on Easter Day?
We take very seriously all that has been heard by the Inquiry. Archbishop Justin said when he gave evidence last week that he had learned again through listening and reading the evidence given to the Inquiry, that we must not simply say sorry, but that we must also take action that demonstrates clearly that we have learnt the lessons. It is a fact that Bishops and Archbishops are now rightly required to listen, learn and act in accordance with safeguarding legislation and good practice. We are thankful to our episcopal colleagues for all that they are doing in this area and we are grateful to Bishop Martin Warner (Bishop of Chichester) and all his team in Chichester for the particular work they have done and are doing.
There is, of course, absolutely no room for complacency. We need to learn the lessons from what has gone wrong and from the shocking abuse. There are more hearings to come which will focus on the Church of England as part of the IICSA process. So, we do need to continue to listen carefully to all that IICSA has to say and, above all, to listen to the voices of the survivors.
Holy Week is about listening to God, the priority for all Christians. Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denied him, and the rest deserted him. The crowds turned on him. As we go through these days together again let us affirm our commitment to listen to God and to build up the relationships between us as those who are disciples of Jesus Christ. The various signs and powerful actions of this week; the Renewal of Ordination vows and the Blessing of the Oils on Maundy Thursday; the foot washing and stripping of the altars on Maundy Thursday evening; the starkness of the bare church on Good Friday; the waiting and dead silence of Holy Saturday; and the sheer unalloyed joy on Easter Day; all of these give us the opportunity to renew our trust, ensure we are open and honest one with another and commit ourselves with renewed energy to respond to the good news.
Christ is alive and so we proclaim the gospel afresh and confidently in this generation. It is indeed the wisdom of God, the power of God for salvation.
Yours in Christ,
The Most Revd & Rt Hon Justin Welby
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu
Archbishop of York
Holy Week and Easter
During Holy Week we follow the way of the Cross with our Lord in a range of reflective and symbolic ways. On the Tuesday evening of Holy week we welcome Brother Hugh SSF from the Franciscan community at Hilfield for the concluding session of our Lent study on caring for the environment.
All are welcome to join in treading this path together
All are especially welcome to celebrate the glorious Resurrection of our Lord on Easter Day
Click on the image below to see full details of St.Peter’s services and devotions for Holy Week and Easter
