Dear Friends

I am writing this during a night when the country is being battered by storm Ciara and the winds are certainly chasing around the church I am spending the night in. It is a real privilege to serve in the night shelter tonight. I cannot imagine what it must be like for people to have had to spend all of today trying to find shelter, let alone overnight. The people I have met here in both the volunteers and the guests have been people with such interesting stories and some of them, so sad.

It seems such a right use of our churches to open the doors in many different ways to welcome people in, to offer hospitality and host those in need of this. Jesus spent most of his ministry working with people at the margins of society. We hope in time that St Peter’s, Yaxley will be able to host the night shelter. Building work is planned and approved, we are just in the process of fundraising and grant application before we can go forward with any work which might be 2021 or 2022. Many of you will have been in to our beautiful church and know that one of the downsides is the fact that we only have 1 toilet and that will need to be changed before we could offer accommodation.

Hopefully as you read this, the weather will be brighter and spring really will have sprung. The night shelter project will be coming to an end for another year and the church will be in the season of Lent – hopefully you enjoyed your pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?! Lent for Christians is a season of preparation, a time when we think about the journey that Jesus took to the cross on that first Good Friday over 2000 years ago. We remember that Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and Christians may give up something that they love and give that money to charity or some will take on something such as reading a specific book or a project and aim to create space and time to spend with God.

Mothering Sunday this year is the 22nd March and for some this will be a joyful day and for others a harder day. We will have a service of Holy Communion at 9am and an All Age Service at 11am. Do come and join us for these or for any of our services, you will be very welcome.

Stay safe in our weird weather!

With every blessing

Rev Sarah (Vicar)

01733 248690/07498 230858/[email protected]