If you have some church
news which may be of interest to others then please
contact us
and we will enter it in 'our journal'
December
Our
Church in the pub at The Lincolnshire
Poacher on Wragby Road is getting popular.
It is family centred and usually includes a
DVD clip, puppet show, children's
activities, songs, and Nicks famous talk.
Here are some pictures of the meeting before
Christmas, that Tony sent in so that you can
get a flavour of what goes on. There were
about 60 people there.
Band Practice
Learning a dance
Pete
Watching Pete as he brags about
Christmas presents!
Cold and
frosty night in Castle Sq. All ready for the
band and carol singers
The
Lincoln Christmas market is over and there
is a late night shopping event arranged for
uphill Lincoln. There is mulled wine laid an
and a parade of camels and kings - yes real
camels (not sure if the kings were real but
they looked the part!) However no one to
sing and play carols. Edward to the rescue.
He swiftly arranged for the band and carol
singers AND more importantly took the
opportunity to tell of the good news with
the help of a crib scene. It was a keen
frosty evening so the scene was set in
Castle Square.....
The
Kings and camels arrive in
Castle Sq. (photos; Tony Link)
November
Ladies of the
Tuesday Club have this term raised £100 for the
local cancer charity "Candles".
We also sent our annual donation of £100 to the
Bishop Mubarek Fund "Together for Sudan". This fund
specifically supports the education of women to
empower them to independence. The school which we
support is at Fulla Falls. It HAD a building but the
government forces destroyed it so they now have a
school under the trees!
(Article - Gillian Roe)
October
Eleven
members of St Peter’s met together for a time of
reflection and creativity on the names of
God/Jesus led by Iris Hyde and Jane Lund.
Iris led the initial reflection based around the
names Jahweh, Eloahim and Adonai. Images such as
the Door, the Rock and the Light of the World
and appropriate texts were displayed around the
room for our contemplation. After a time of
quiet we shared lunch while discussing possible
ideas.
Iris and Jane led the creative session having
provided a wide range of resources. It was
interesting to see the different interpretations
and the results of our time were shared as we
gathered at the close.
We all appreciated the preparation which had
gone to make this a time of reflection and the
opportunity for fellowship in our creativity.
(Article Gillian Roe)
(Photos Jane Lund)
Three days of fun,
learning, and journeying into space about sums up
this years Starship Discovery Holiday Club. Based on
Matthews Gospel it told the story from Peter's
viewpoint of him meeting Jesus, walking on the
water, and denying Jesus. So day one was called
'turning' day two 'trusting, and day three
'tripping' - get the drift? Now how do you think we
linked all that to a journey through space! Not
easy, but the fifty children who attended quickly
latched on.......and here are the pictures to prove
it. The holiday club finished with a starlight
alternative halloween party, and somehow the fifty
became seventy five!
Photos - Shaun Morton
Look
at the spread for our harvest supper this
year. Particularly tasty was Alistair's
chicken balti and Shilas vindaloo. Seriously
though - a big thank you to all the cooks
and bottle washers who worked hard to make
the evening at the cathedral centre a
success. A special mention for Margaret Ford
and Mike Jacob for their illustrated talk on
their work with our mission partners in
Tirunaveli South India.
September
Thank you
to Lord Carey for coming along to St Peter's
to give a talk on Jesus' invitation to a
party (Matthew 22. 1-10). He was visiting
Lincoln to visit a member of our church who
was celebrating the 30th anniversary of his
ordination.
Lord Carey's visit just happened to coincide with 'back to church Sunday'
as well.
To download what Edward said about it 'right
click here and save target as'
Margaret Ford
spent some time visiting our mission partners in
Tirunelvelli South India this month. It was a little
warm she says - 37 deg! Yep that's warm. To read her
letter
click here
This
month we had the pleasure of seeing two
of our regular church members being
married, in the presence of God, by Edward. They mailed this
message in shortly after the
wedding.....
'Hello Everyone,
Thank you all, for our wedding
yesterday! The day wouldn't have been
the same without any of you.
Andie and myself send all our love, and
thanks for all that you have done. We
hoped you enjoyed the party as well!
Have a good week, and we'll see you
after the honeymoon
All our love
Mr and Mrs Thornton '
July
On the 18th
July, Andrew Lund went out to Romania, as
part of a team of 20, to run a Christian holiday for
some Romanian children. A normal day would consist
of a morning Bible study, morning and afternoon
activities, a siesta after lunch, patches of free
time and an evening meeting. The morning and
afternoon activities would be canoeing, kayaking,
windsurfing, sailing, cycling, crafts, land games
and occasionally climbing and archery. He felt
privileged to have met so many amazing children on
the camp, and through having fun, teaching and
worship, brought them closer to Christ.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS HIS
FULL ARTICLE
Alive @
Alexanders is an informal service held at Alexanders
Cafe. This month Nick based his talk on
Ecclesiastes 2. 17-26 which is all about the
emphasis some of us place on our work. Do you want
to watch
the video that opened the service? Right click the
dancer and 'save target as'... to download the
video...
What a
great idea to have a 'picnic in the park' to
celebrate our patronal festival. With lots
of fun, games, butties and cakes and a
bouncy castle to mix it all up. Thanks Julia
for all the work you do to make this annual
event a consistent success.
picture Jake Thornton
Great
hosts and entertainers
A
sad cheerio to Ryan and Ann Matthews,
who have set off home to Capetown. We
really appreciate all you have done,
especially leading our young people, and
running a very special house group. We
will miss you....Here's a clip from
their final e mail in the UK.....
,.....'We have just had a
farewell lunch down the road with a
group of very special friends, who we
will miss terribly. My emotions have
been all over the place, with saying
goodbyes, but Ryan is keeping it
together well. The bone crunching hugs
given by little old ladies with watery,
sincere eyes, at church this morning
just set me off immediately. And so, to
all the very special people we have met
here, as well as all our friends who
have shared experiences with us,
supported and helped us, we bid goodbye
and say thank you.'
Ryan and
Ann get a warm round of applause
June
Photo - Alistair Ward
The football
season may be drawing to a close but for those who
enjoy a bit of a ‘kick-about,’ there’s nothing like
playing a friendly game on a warm summer’s evening.
So on two evenings during the summer months we hired
the Carlton Boulevard Sports Ground and organized
some light hearted games of soccer for parents and
children to join in. The evenings ran from 7-8pm and
included ‘Half-time’ drinks break and chocolate and
a quick ‘inspirational’ team talk about sport and
faith.
Article - Martyn Spencer
St
Peter's and St George's
On a
bright sunny and windy afternoon in June the
St Peter's Rocks played St George Dragon
Slayers in the annual 20 overs cricket match
at Reepham. How is it that we always loose
on the last ball of the game...that's what I
want to know? In all sporting sincerity
though...well done St George Dragon Slayers.
Till next year that is!.........There was
also a juniors ''kwik cricket'' match
running at the same time for 5-14 year olds.
Kwik
Cricket players
May
Where next for St. Peter's?
"As many of you
will be aware there are more and more occasions at
our 10.30am service where we are to all intents and
purposes 'full'. A particular factor we need to
address is the increasing number of children and
young people. We now have regular contact with over
100 children on Sundays. This is a congregation in
itself which needs leading and resourcing. We do
have plans to increase the seating capacity of the
church and improve our church rooms but we also want
to take this opportunity to review our Sunday
services. You will also be aware that we have for a
couple of years now been considering how we could
extend the ministry of St. Peter's to include the
Carlton estate. There are a number of possibilities
for our church committee to consider. These have
been set out in a questionnaire. Why not pick up
your copy from church, It only takes a couple of
minutes to fill out and you will be helping to make
decisions about ways in which we can spread the Good
News"........Article - Edward
South India
Night.
A group
of us from the congregation of St. Peter in Eastgate
gathered to look at the DVD we had received from Dr.
Premkumar, our mission partner in Tirunelveli, South
India. It gave us a most interesting over-view of
the Diocese of Tirunelveli's work amongst, the
mentally handicapped, the blind, the deaf and Dr.
Premkumar's own work in the village clinics and the
new centre that he has established for families
where one of the family members has leprosy.
Joe Bartrop
taught us a new song that encouraged us as disciples
of the Lord Jesus Christ to walk where He walked -
amongst the poor and the marginalised.
This suddenly
became an exciting possibility when Mike Jacob, (a
member of the congregation) and deputy head of the
Minister School concluded the first part of the
evening with an up-date on a exciting project he
has been working on for the last three years to
enable groups of young people to visit the Diocese
of Tirunelveli to do a job of work. The first
group of young people from the Minister School will
be travelling out to Tirunelveli in July to do some
building work for the Deaf Community under the
supervision of the Rev. Raja Christopher. They
will be staying with the students at St. John's
College. He hoped it would be possible in the
future for other groups of young adults and
even older people who had missed out on a 'gap year'
experience to do some work - to stay in the
Diocese of Tirunelveli not as passive observers
but as active participants in the mission of the
Church in South India - to actually walk where
Jesus walked.
There were
activities for the children and the evening
concluded with a shared supper, mostly Indian
cuisine kindly prepared by Shyla. The Rev. Bernard
Stonehouse a retired minister with the United
Reformed Church was our special guest. He was one
of the founder members of the ecumenical link
between the Anglican, Methodist and United Reformed
Churches in all Lincolnshire with the Tirunelveli
Diocese, South India.
A big thank you
to all who helped to make this evening such an
enjoyable one. Article - Margaret
Ford
Mike,
Margaret and Bernard
'A Taste
of India'
April
About 60 people
stayed back after the service last Sunday to take
part in our annual general meeting. Its exciting to
hear what God is doing in our church. (Have a look
at the
monthly newsletter to read more). Thanks to
everyone for your prayer and thanks to God for what
He is doing, what talents He sends to us, and how He
is directing our organising committee.
(Thanks to
Amelia for sending in her article about the cake
sale which raised lots of money for our mission
partner South Sudan Voices of Hope.)
March
The
London Men's Convention:
This years theme was 'Men with a Message'
and Stuart Townend led the worship with a
passionate speaker from down under called
Alan Stewart who spoke on the truth about
heaven and hell (Revelation 20 and 21).
Thanks to Nick who did all the arranging and
for Alistair for being our London 'satnav'
to get us to the Royal Albert Hall. A
great turnout with twelve men (well there's
a biblical number for you!) from St Peters
adding to the 3,988 men already there.
Arriving at the Royal Albert Hall
Lunch in Hyde Park
Stuart Townend leading worship
Amazing.....Easter Sunday saw 10 cm (that's
2 inches for people like me) of snow on the
ground. It was great fun for the children
(some aged well into their 40's!) in the
church grounds making snowmen and
snowballing.
Here is
Keith (the one holding the balloons!) - He's
one of the team from Oakhill Bible college
who came up to help run the Hope 08 mission
at St Peter's this Easter. He is grabbing
one of the 250 hot cross buns which were
given away on Good Friday on the Carlton
Estate. Tony Ford, another of the Oakhill
team said "It was a great opportunity to
speak to people and share the Easter
message"
Picture Tony Ford
Well
done to all the people from St Peter's and
the Carlton Estate who turned out on a cold,
and windy Good Friday to litter pick on the
Greetwell Nature Reserve, Carlton Boulevard
Lincoln as part of the Hope 08 Christian
initiative. The area looks fantastic now
that all the littering plastic, paper, cans,
bottles, and unmentionables have been
cleared. Lets hope it stays that way for a
few months.
Pictures Tony Ford
MISSION
St
Peter's Easter Mission this year was to
spread the good news of Jesus, and what He
did for us on the cross. Six fantastic
individuals came up to Lincoln from Oakhill
College in London to help us. There was a
series of activities throughout Easter week
including talks, seminars, house visits, a
sports day, a quiz or two, a community
litter pick, and the great hot cross bun
giveaway.
The
Oakhill Team
The
Easter craft and meditation afternoon
was a thoughtful and imaginative
introduction to Holy Week, led by Jane
Lund and Iris Hyde. We considered
the famous passage in Isaiah foretelling
the sacrifice of God's Son and then were
'let loose' on a wonderful selection of
craft materials - fabrics, paints,
beads, stones, bark, twigs, ironmongery
(nails, wire), pastels - just about
everything you could possibly imagine.
Each one of us produced a unique,
thought-provoking image of Holy Week,
including collage pictures of Palm
Sunday and the crucifixion, beautiful
calligraphy and a piece of writing
exploring the shadows detailed in the
Easter story.
As a participant I would like to say a big thank
you to Jane and Iris for the work involved in
putting this afternoon together. I hope the
congregation and visitors to the church will see
our efforts and feel inspired to join us for the
next event.
(Thanks
to Carolyn Jones for the article)
(Pictures Jane Lund)
I've
just looked in the diary and Mothering
Sunday was on the 18th March last
year...This year Mothering Sunday fell on
March 2nd! (Only two weeks to go before
Easter week arrives. WOW!) Anyway the fact
that the Easter season is earlier did not
deter lots of folks turning out for the
Mothering Sunday service. We ran out of service
sheets! The children had a great time making
lots of 'Mum type gifts' and linking their
craftwork to the weeks bible passages. They
did a good job handing all the ladies in the
congregation a primrose as a mothering
Sunday gift from St Peter's.
February
There is
so much happening at St Peter's at the
moment. What with a group of trainee vicars
coming to see us again over the Easter
period, the re-ordering of the church
building, the planting of another church on
the Carlton estate, and our involvement in
the national Hope 08 initiative. One might
say 'well where do you start'. The answer?
In prayer. 'But you dear friends, build yourself up
in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy
Spirit' (Jude 20)
About 20 people turned out at the vicarage to a prayer supper. Edward Nick
and Tony led prayer about Alpha, training,
more workers - more harvest!, re-ordering
the church, resources to do it,
congregation, community, and the Carlton
project.
The Tuesday
ladies club has been going for a while now. It meets
at 2pm every Tuesday at St Peter's. New members are
always welcome. Gillian Roe, who runs it, says that
the activities are really varied and interesting, so
why not have a look and see what it's like. The February
activities include: Safety in the home, and an
opportunity to discuss women in the priesthood
with Rev. Allyson Buxton from Lincoln Cathedral.
January
Following the
2006 Christmas grand effort in raising £2,500 for
our mission partner Kenneth Elisapana and his
charity
South Sudan Voices of Hope. During
Christmas 2007 we have added another £2,432 to the fund. Well done to everyone.
