The Friends of St Peters Church

Stations of the Cross, the pre-Easter service on the Tuesday before Good Friday, was once again held in St Peter’s Church and commemorated the 14 steps of Jesus last day on earth as a man and offer a particularly vivid way of following in the steps of Jesus on the way to the Cross. Members of the congregation came from All Saints, Offord Cluny and St Mary’s, Buckden.

We have two events and one service in St Peter’s during the month of June and then a quiet summer until early September.

Diary dates

Thursday 15 June 7pm

Friends of St Peter’s AGM

The AGM is an opportunity for all to come along and hear what the Friends have been doing over the last year and to hear our plans for the year ahead. Please do come and meet us, there's a complimentary drink on offer. Everyone is warmly welcomed to our annual meeting with no commitment to join our committee.

Saturday 17 June 7.30pm

Guitar concert by Hunts Guitar Ensemble

These are a vibrant group of enthusiastic and proficient classical guitarists who enjoy playing and performing together. Their repertoire is varied and covers every era and genre, and whilst their principal focus is the guitar, their performances include pieces with the flute. They have performed in St Peter’s in 2014 and 2019, and so we are looking forward to another great evening this year.

Tickets £10 including complimentary drink from ticketoffice.stpeters@gmail.com or Jenny Griffiths 07776 426103. Free parking on adjacent archery field. Doors open at 7pm and all seats unreserved. Please see separate publicity page in this O & A edition.

Sunday 25 June 6pm

St Peter’s Tide Service with spoken communion

It has been common practice for several years to commemorate Petertide, also known as St Peter's Tide, and which refers to the Sunday nearest to St Peter’s Day on 29th June, with a service in St Peter’s Church.

The 1569 ‘Oforde Daerssy’ Communion Cup that formerly belonged to St Peter’s will be used for this spoken service of Holy Communion following the Book of Common Prayer. It will be led by All Saints Church. All are welcome to attend this service.

Sunday 3 September 9:30am All Age Family Service

Saturday 10 September 10am to 4pm

Sunday 11 September 1pm to 5pm

Sunday 22 October 12 to 4pm Autumn Craft Fair

We are already getting commitment from previous and new stallholders so if you are interested in having a stall please contact me, details below.

Saturday 11 November 10.45am Armistice Wreath Laying

Sunday 3 December 4pm

Carols by Candlelight Service

For all our events and services please watch out for details in future editions and on posters around the village. Whichever event you may attend we look forward to welcoming you in St Peter’s during the coming year.

Visiting the church - Recently laid mesh across the churchyard path

The Parish Council are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the churchyard and with a donation made by the Friends Group purchased some more reinforcing mesh in the hope it will stop the animal life digging holes where we all walk from the gates to the Church porch. The grass will grow though the mesh and provide a firmer surface but in the meantime please be careful as the mesh surface could be slippery when wet. Unfortunately, the mesh finishes a little short of the church porch so the final area remains grass only.

As an ongoing reminder, we highlight that for security reasons the church is kept locked. However, a key to St Peter’s can be obtained from The Limes and therefore the interior of the church can always be accessed. The newly recreated website also has the facility to make contact with the Friends Group by completing the contact page, if you wish to visit the church. https://stpetersofforddarcy.co.uk

Please remember to sign the visitor book whenever you visit, sited on a table in the middle of the church, as visitor numbers are important.

All donations to the Churches Conservation Trust for the upkeep and maintenance of this beautiful building can be made into the wall safe, which is sited adjacent to the main door, along with a display of CCT visitor leaflets. There is also a donation pot on the table next to the visitor book.

The driveway to the church is privately owned, with limited vehicular access. Visitors to the church should leave their cars at the road end of the drive. There is space for two Blue Badge Holders close to the church gates.

Jenny Griffiths