Dear FriendsI have enjoyed my first few months as Vicar in Yaxley, thank you for your warm welcome.This year has been a journey in many ways, not least, travelling across the country to a new place, new church and new people. Our Christmas story is one of journeys, Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem, shepherds leaving their sheep, Wise Men travelling many miles. The focus of our story is a baby born and placed in an animal feeding trough. This baby was Jesus also called Emmanuel a word which means God with us. Jesus came to the world out of love for you and for me, to share his life with people and to enable people to come to know him and God his Father.These journeys were not planned, they were inconvenient and difficult and this year may have been a hard one for you. It might also have been one of new and exciting opportunities. Wherever your journey has taken you this year, I pray you will know the peace that Jesus came to bring us and the love that is there for each one of us. Please join us over the Christmas season to celebrate afresh the birth of Jesus.With every blessing for a happy and blessed Christmas and New Year Rev Sarah.
I am writing this just a few days after I was licensed as Priest-in-Charge (Vicar) of St Peter’s Church, Yaxley by The Bishop of Ely. It was an incredibly special service and friends and family came from all over the country. There was also an unexpected surprise, as people from The Wenlock Team of Parishes which were my previous parishes in Shropshire came to support me for this service. The community of St. Peter’s Church worked incredibly hard to ensure everything ran smoothly and I would like to thank them. Along with friends and family and so many people from St. Peter’s Church community, were also many different representatives from Yaxley. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for being there and part of such a special evening. It is going to take me a good while to get to know people, names and places, but do say hello if you see me out and about and I will eventually get there! Thank you for coming to support me.Simon and I are really excited to be in Yaxley and part of the St. Peter’s community. People have been so helpful as we try to find our way around the village and this side of the country. I was ordained 6 years ago and have been in Shropshire for these 6 years and before this, I was a nurse working mainly in cancer care for 13 years.Thank you for your welcome to the village and I am looking forward to getting to know people here.With every blessingRev Sarah (Vicar)01733 24869007498 230858vicar@saintpeters.co.uk
Firstly, we would like to thank all those local people who so generously support the food bank. Without your regular donations, we wouldn’t be able to continue to help vulnerable families in our community.This year, we have been busier than ever, having already given out over 2 metric tonnes of food from our base at St. Peters Church. This has meant that with the busy summer holiday period fast approaching our stocks of food items are significantly lower than usual for the time of year. During the school summer holidays, when school meals are not available, we provide weekly food parcels to a number of families struggling to make ends meet. This means we give out a large amount of food during this period.We would like to make an appeal to the folk of Yaxley and the surrounding villages. Would you consider placing a few items in one of the collecting baskets around the locality?We are particularly short of the following items:Tinned meat and fishTinned vegetablesTinned potatoesTinned fruitLong life milkLong life custardTinned rice puddingOur baskets are in the following locations:Yaxley Co-opYaxley Lakeside SurgeryWilliam de Yaxley SchoolFourfields SchoolYaxley Infants SchoolFarcet Primary SchoolAustin HallSt Peters ChurchSt Mary Magdalene Church StiltonThanking you all again for your continuing support.St. Peter’s ChurchFor all enquiries, please contact Laura on 07939 449255 or lauraashley@saintpeters.co.uk
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 BlessSt. Peter’s Church#followthestar
