Helping Hands

Our supported charity in August is Helping Hands. They offer a free, individual, face to face  and confidential service to help people deal with financial problems, debts, employment, or housing.  In particular, they assist and advise about Welfare Benefit applications, with form filling and letter writing. They provide help with utility bills, consumer issues and family law.

In their publicity they say:” We have recently developed an outreach service so we can represent you at Welfare Benefit appeals and Tribunals.  We can also go to the homes of housebound people to help them to fill out Welfare Benefit applications and deal with debts etc.

We offer a ‘one stop shop’ service, so we can, for instance, provide a full package of care and assistance to the victims of domestic abuse including housing, financial and legal help.

We are encouraging anyone with debt problems to seek our help at an early stage.  Please, don’t let your debts mount up, and find that your interest payments are getting out of control.  Just seek our help.”

So, we pray for their work and for the team that offers consultation at the Methodist Church.

We pray for people forced to use pay day loans and those who make money from them, that they may escape from their snare.

Holiday Club -- Mega-Makers - Coming Soon!

Holiday Club is coming soon! It may be for primary school aged children but we also have our young people helping to lead this exciting new project! We’ll be looking at different stories of Jesus about his power, his love and his selflessness in saving us. We’ll have songs, sports, creative activities, fun and drama to enjoy.
It’s free.

Wednesday 5th August – Friday 7th August 9:15am-12pm

We also have a special all together service on the Sunday (9th) to celebrate and share all that we’ve done with a BBQ open to all afterwards :)

If you would like to sign up email: spyouth3@gmail.com for a form

Welcome Back!

It’s always a great joy to welcome back to St Paul’s past members who now live far away. There were two this Sunday. One was Steve Carter, who was previously one of our Readers, who had also been prominent in the diocese as Secretary of the Readers’ Council and a lecturer on the Readers’ Course.

Steve undertook an important leadership role at St Paul’s, during the interregnum before the appointment of the Revd Simon Harvey as vicar in 2003.

Steve still has family and friends who live in Leicester, but now lives in Devizes in Wiltshire and recently finished working with the Barnabas Fund, which encourages support for persecuted Christians across the world. He is now undertaking a research degree at Bristol Baptist Theological College and feels that God may be leading him into theological education.

We wish him well in his studies and in his duties at his home church, Devizes Baptist Church.

Also present at our service today was Sandra Hayward. Sandra led the first Music Group at St Paul’s. She was noticing with interest the various changes that have been made since her time. We hope that she was happy that we have continued with the fine tradition that she set.

It was lovely to meet them both and look forward to their next visits.

Farewell Priyanka!

Since last September, Priyanka Ferreira has been working as an intern at St Pauls. Her warm smile, cheerful personality and a willingness to take part in anything that was needed, coupled with her enthusiasm for her faith in Christ, have made her friends in every age group of the church.

This was her last official Sunday, though she promises to be back to see us. During the morning service, a youth worker, Lou McGoldrick presented her with gifts from the young people, while Colin Chettle, one of our Lay Readers, presented her with a gift from the congregation. After this a group of church members prayed for Priyanka and for her future.

Priyanka has yet to discover where God is leading her, after a holiday in India. Wherever it may be, we wish her God’s every blessing.

Congratulations Dr Keith Waddell, Doctor of Science!

Previous blogs have mentioned the great work that Dr Keith Waddell, with whom we are linked, has carried out for many years in Uganda, associated with the Africa Inland Mission, firstly in an upcountry hospital and in recent years in eye surgery.

On 14 July, during Leicester University’s degree ceremonies, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science, to add to his mind blowing number of qualifications. Although originally a graduate of Oxford and St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School, it was appropriate that he should have received this award from Leicester as his specialist studies in ophthalmology took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Relating to the award, Keith said this: “Leicester became my home at that time (1981).  In 1982 I purchased a house though I could only rent it out being absent much of the time in Africa.  So in 2003 I changed to an apartment in Oadby to which I now come annually on leave.

My work has been generously supported by local friends and churches.  I have been a member of Holy Trinity Church, Reget Road, and now St Paul’s/St Peter’s Oadby.”

Keith, it’s wonderful to have been in fellowship with you, and to feel in some small way linked to your work among some of the most needy people in the country of Uganda and to the Church there. May you long be able to continue this work.

Link to details of the award.

Read the degree oration

Principal Services – July – September

The Vicar writes
Dear Friends,

It is a great delight to welcome Gillian into the parish as she begins her curacy with us. Do make her feel welcome and encourage her as she settles in. Along with our ‘Hello’s’ we also sadly say ‘Goodbye’ to Priyanka on the 19th July as her year as an Intern comes to an end. It is hoped that following the success of Priyanka’s time with us we may have another Intern starting in September.

As we continue our study through Mark’s gospel we take a couple of breaks; on the 9th August following a 3 day Holiday Club where we hope to be able to share with you all that we have been up to. Also on the 6th September we welcome a speaker from Tearfund who will update us on their work we support, particularly through the Connected Church project PAG in Uganda. On the 23rd August we all meet together at St Peter’s where the churches in Great Glen and Burton Overy will also be joining us.

Looking further ahead I am delighted that on 29th November we have James Lawrence of CPAS coming to speak, not to be missed!

God Bless
Steve

Details

Revd Gillian Gamble – Officially Welcomed!

Sunday 5 July was Gillian’s first Sunday at St Paul’s. Steve welcomed her, interviewed her, and then prayed for her. Gillian told us a little about the background – coming from Newry, Northern Ireland, training at Moorlands Bible College, doing youth work in Lutterworth and being called into the Anglican Ministry. She then trained at Cuddesdon College in Oxfordshire.

Gillian then preached from the gospel of Mark about Jesus’ feeding of the 5000. As she highlighted Jesus’ involvement of the disciples, she encouraged us to be available for Christ to use. As an example, she told us about the person who had spoken to her about Christ as a teenager.

We look forward to more of your ministry among us.

To Work!

Gillian has now started work in the parish. Today, she visited the Thursday morning communion service at St Paul's and started to get to know the people at “Coffee Pot” afterwards.

Gillian writes this of her first week:

"I have had a great first week in Oadby and have met many lovely people at the various services and events I’ve been to. You have all been so welcoming and kind. I look forward to getting to know you all better, which includes the mammoth task of remembering everyone’s name. 

I am settling in well and getting to know the local area slowly. The house is great and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped get it ready for my arrival. It’s feeling more and more like home every day, although I’ve still got some unpacking to do, blinds to put up and pictures to hang. I will get there!

Once again, thank you for your warm welcome and for all your prayers. It is so good to finally be here. I am excited about all that God is doing and will do in this place and through this parish."

Gillian will be formally welcomed at our next Sunday morning service, in which she’ll be taking part, and then at the “Bring and Share Lunch” afterwards. Although based at St Paul’s, Gillian’s work will be across the parish and we hope that our friends at St Peter’s will join us for that lunch. Our CMS link mission partner, Jane Jerrard, will also be joining us.

Gillian, we are glad that God has brought you to us, and we look forward to working with you as we seek to extend His Kingdom.