News & Features

Have you experienced the power of the pea?

Peas are the staple crop of many farmers in Malawi and the focus of this year's Christian Aid Week campaign.  You can read more about the hope they bring to farmers like Esther here: Christian Aid Week 2023

If you would like to help Esther and her community to make their dreams come true, sending their children to school and giving them the chance of a brighter future, please made a donation to this week's collection.  You can do this throught the Christian Aid web-site or by using our Benefice E-Envelope, which you can find here: E-Envelope

Thank you for doing your bit to support our brothers and sisters in the worldwide community.

Plans are afoot for a grand celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

You will find details on this web-site of all the exciting things that are planned, including our Coronation Competitions.

We look forward to welcoming anyone who wishes to take part.

The season of Lent begins on Wednesday 22nd February this year.  We will mark this beginning with a service of Holy Communion, with the Imposition of Ashes, at 10am in St Peter's Church at Brooke.

Throughout the season there will be opportunties for prayer, study and fellowship; all helping us to prepare ourselves for Holy Week and the celebrations at Easter.

This year we are re-introducing a week day Communion Service on Thursday mornings in March, with the option of coffee and Bible Study to follow for those who wish.  We will keep Mothering Sunday with a celebratory service, inviting community organisations to join with the regular congregation, and offering the opportunity to remember those mothers we cannot be with on the day.

Full details of all our Lent offerings, including an invitation to join the Hempnall Group for their Lent talks: "Local but not parochial....", please see our "Lent, Holy Week and Easter" booklet, which is on the Resources Page and featured on the Home Page.

The Feast of Candlemas, on the 2nd February, marks the end of the Christmas season.  We turn our attention from the stories of baby Jesus to the stories of his passion, death and resurrection.

We celebrated in style in the Brooke Benefice with a candlelit service on Sunday evening and a service for Brooke Primary School on the day itself.

It was wonderful to welcome people from across the deanery to our Candlemas Communion service.  They were greeted by a lantern lit path and the church was aglow with candles.  During the service the candles for use in all our churches this year were presented and blessed, keeping an ancient tradition.  St Peter's Choir gave us a special rendition of the Nunc Dimittis during the Gospel reading and the prophetess Anna made a guest appearance to share her story of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.  The celebrations concluded with coffee and special Candlemas cake in the Church Rooms.

For a second year the children of Brooke Primary School processed through the village, carrying their handmade lanterns to the church for their own candlemas service.  Year Five and Six children led our worship and acted out the Presentation story.  Candles for use in worship at school were blessed and the school choir led us all in singing "shine Jesus shine".  The children left church to go out and be lights in the world.

We now enter a brief period of "Ordinary Time" before Lent begins and we turn our attention to preparing for our Easter celebrations.

Looking forward to working together in 2023 as we wait to see what God has in store for us.