With the help of Alive in Faith funds, St Luke’s Peterborough has been able to adapt to the challenges of a rapidly growing community. Fr Jeffery Downie explains the changes.
With considerable housing development in the area, St Luke’s Peterborough has seen significant growth in recent years. There are now three Sunday morning Masses instead of one and attendance has more than doubled over the past five years alone. The church community is young and diverse, bringing much new life and freshness to the parish, along with a new primary school, St John Henry Newman Voluntary Aided.
With limited resources it has been a challenge to quickly adapt the church building to these changes, but with the help of our Alive in Faith funds and other donations, we have been able to make the best use of the space available.
At a cost of £120,000 the grounds have been fenced off, creating a safe space for outdoor activities, fire exits have been improved, the server’s sacristy enlarged, kitchen and toilets replaced, and external storage supplied. In particular, three small rooms have been knocked together to create a useful small hall, which can be opened onto the church.
On Sunday October 16 illness kept Bishop Alan Hopes from joining us to bless the building, but parish priest Fr Jeffrey, joined by Fr Andrews and Deacon Prameel, was able to step in at the 12 noon Mass. The building work was blessed, the children’s choir sang ‘Panis Angelicus’ by Cesar Frank, and everyone enjoyed a buffet lunch with celebration cakes afterwards.
We are very grateful for the support of all concerned and offer our prayers and thanks as we look to the future and all that it holds with faith and trust.
Pictured above is the growing congregation at St Luke’s and, below, the choir singing ‘Panis Angelicus’.
