Funding Campaign
During May members of the church are running a funding campaign to continue to arrange the financial management of the church on a regular footing. The congregation will be encouraged to continue to commit to regular giving for the future.

Eleven30
There has been lots going on during Lent and on Good Friday we met for an hour and followed the last week of Jesus’ life with different activities.
During the morning we each made our own Easter Story book which we built up through the morning.
Some of us enjoyed seeing Barry Hill on Easter Sunday morning using a conjuring trick and showing us the reason why Jesus died.

Eleven30
Why not come and join in with us most Sundays at 11.30am at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church.
This short service is designed for adults and children to be together and is an informal time of story, music, prayers, activity and craft followed by refreshments and other activities for children.
We look forward to welcoming you any Sunday in May and at a combined service to celebrate the Jubilee on 3rd June at 10.30a.m.
Look out for our bright yellow publicity material and balloons.

Easter
During Holy Week there was a Communion Service every evening apart from Good Friday. On Easter day itself the church looked resplendent once again as every window was filled with flowers as well as pedestals and the porch and the lilies sponsored by people in memory of loved ones with cards of dedication with them placed at the feet of the Paschal Candle, shown in the pictured below right.
A large congregation heard Barry Hill, the Diocesan Missioner, give his final address. This one mainly directed at the young people present. At the conclusion all the children received a cream egg and the adults a sugar egg.

Diamond Jubilee
On Sunday the church will be open form 12.00noon to 5.00pm and Monday 11.00am to 4.00pm.
During this time there will be a chance to look at the special flower arrangements. On Sunday the Tower will be open from noon till 3pm for the brave among us to venture onto the roof and look over the town. If the weather is right the view is quite spectacular! During all this time there will be refreshments in church.
On Sunday morning the service of Thanksgiving will be at 10.30am.
On Sunday evening there will a special Jubilee Thanksgiving at 6.30pm. Everyone is welcome to both these services.

Women’s World Day of Prayer
On Friday 2nd March the members of Churches Together in Syston organised this service which was held in the Baptist Church on Melton Road.
The service was created by the women of Malaysia with the theme Let Justice Prevail.
The address was given by Jill Abel from The Peru Children’s Trust who described the difficulties facing the poorest children; how they often do not have birth certificates so cannot access the free education. They also need help getting clean water and enough food.
Following the service the congregation from the various churches enjoyed refreshments which included some delicious home made cakes! There were also handcrafts sold in aid of the charity.

Licensing by the Archdeacon
On Sunday 4th March the Very Reverend Richard Atkins attended the 10.00am service as there was a need to swear in David White as Team Rector of the Fosse Team. When David first came it was to the Syston Team which has since become the Fosse Team. This was a legal requirement but a good opportunity for us to enjoy a visiting preacher before Richard leaves to become Bishop of Bedford in the Diocese of St Albans.

Eleven30
The eleven30 service continues to meet each Sunday at 11.30am, see picture above. It is a mixture of informal worship, activity, craft, music, refreshments and games designed for adults and children to be together.
A warm welcome awaits you.
Special services coming up over Easter include a service on Good Friday morning, 6th April for parents and children which will include activities and a chance to think about this special day.
It starts at 11.00am in the Church. Do come and join in.

Royal Visit
8th March, 2012
Dear Everyone
I was fortunate enough to be chosen by ballot to represent St. Peter & St. Paul’s at Leicester Cathedral on 8th March where the Queen would be starting the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee. The invitation instructed me to attend at the cathedral with the invitation and photo identification. Uniforms, national dress and medals to be worn if applicable and ladies to wear a hat.
I arrived at the cathedral just before 10.30am wearing a borrowed cerise hat and gloves courtesy of Felicity Austin from her vintage collection. Please do attend her vintage fashion show to be held in church on 25th April. The security and seating procedure were very efficiently organised and I was lucky enough to get a good seat just one seat in from the aisle and I had a clear view of the Royal party throughout the service.
The cathedral was looking truly splendid, the roof picked out in red and green with golden angels down its length. The flowers in the windows were in shades of white, cream, and golden yellow mainly roses. Above the golden rood screen was suspended a crown made from woven willow and interlaced with ‘diamonds’ which sparkled in the light.
Her Majesty and the royal party were escorted to their seats by the Bishop, Dean and Mr. Ravat.
The service of hymns, readings and prayers was short, and included dancers from the Indian and Pakistani communities. It concluded with the singing of the National Anthem.
The Royal Party then left for a short walk about and lunch at St. Martins Centre. Madeleine Lofthus, from our own Queniborough Church, a retired educational officer for the National Association of Flower Arrangers headed a small team who arranged the flowers for all the luncheon tables continuing the theme of yellow and cream with roses, freesias and ‘diamonds’.
This was a truly joyous occasion with lots of clergy in colourful robes and hoods, the ladies in hats but an intimate one because it is a small cathedral.
Later I met up with Madeleine and we proposed a toast ‘THE QUEEN’ with a glass of wine. I enjoyed my day very much indeed.
Your royal correspondent
Susan Gamble

Team Service
As the last Sunday in January was a fifth Sunday the Fosse Team, all met together this time at Thrussington. The crowded church had an unusual form of communion in the form of a Celtic service, followed by refreshments. The collection was for the Team charity the Street Pastors in Leicester.

Quiz Night
This, now annual, event took place on Saturday 28th January in the Church Centre.
Teams of up to eight were questioned by David Springthorpe who did a great job. In the interval a hot supper was served by Terry Farmer and the Social Committee members. This was followed by an enormous selection of puddings, mainly donated.
There was also a raffle for a great number of prizes.
The winning team was the Who Are We Then! Pictured above, courtesy of Vicki.
A total of £487 toward church funds was raised.

Parochial Church Council
This committee meets regularly to discuss the matters of the church.
At the last meeting, held at the beginning of February, the costs of recent repairs for damage at the church, the repairs to the organ and cleaning of gutters was discussed.
Church member  Mark Francis-Ford has been appointed to the position of Foundation Governor at St Peter and St Paul’s Church primary School.
The plans to replace the notice boards are with the Diocesan authorities.
The wild life area of the churchyard has been cleared ready for the new season. A further area of the churchyard is to be left and only managed minimally to allow wildlife to flourish.

Easter Lilies in memory of a loved one
If you would like to have an Arum lily as part of the decoration in the church at Easter please ring Vicki on 0116 260 8337. The cost will be £5. If you wish a name or message to be included these will be placed near the arrangement.

Monday 9th January was a New Year get together. Everyone brought food and we enjoyed a real feast! A relaxing and chatty evening to begin the New Year.
Anyone is free to join us. Evenings begin at 7.30pm in the Church Centre in Lower Church Street.
Next meetings:
13th February – Beverley Hooper-NSPCC The Work of Childline
27th February – Ellie Graham-OSKAR Support Dogs.

Christmas Tree Festival
The church looked absolutely stunning with the trees lining each of the aisles. Most had lights some of which flashed and some that had a variety of programmes to twinkle and flash. The ingenuity and imagination in the designs was truly amazing. Each person had their own personal favourite.

Many of the businesses and voluntary groups from Syston were represented and a good deal of time and talent had gone into creating the decorations. Our thanks go to them for their contributions.

During each day refreshments were supplied and these proved very popular, especially the variety of homemade cakes!

On Saturday morning there was also a Christmas Bazaar in the church hall. This opened at 10.00am with the Syston Singing for Fun group singing carols. There were the usual selection of stalls and refreshments with the ever popular bacon baps!

Running throughout the weekend was the raffle which alone raised £748. This was drawn on Sunday afternoon. The winner of the £100 prize was April Smith. A list of prize winners is available.
As well as all this, members of the Singing for Fun Groups in the area gave a concert on Saturday evening. As it was now dark the trees looked all the more attractive.

Undoubtedly this was a lot of hard work and sharing of talents but the result was an amazing £2,333.29.

Annual Snowdrop Spectacular at Launde Abbey
The pretty woodland walk behind Launde Abbey is the setting for this year’s Snowdrop Spectacular at the Elizabethan/Jacobean Retreat House near East Norton in Leicestershire. The Abbey will be open from 2.00pm to 4.00pm every day from 13th February until 18th March 2012, allowing visitors the opportunity to stroll through the gardens and wander amongst the magnificent display of snowdrops. Afterwards everyone is invited to relax in the refurbished dining room over tea, scones and jam.

The Abbey’s shop will be open all afternoon, selling locally produced jams, honey and other gifts.
The cost is £5.00 per person, which includes tea, scone and jam. A family ticket is also available, 2 adults and 2 children under 12 for £15.00, under 3’s are free. For more information please contact the General Office on 01572 717 254 or visit the website www.launde.org.uk
Why not take a drive out one day?

Christmas Services
On Christmas Eve as usual we held the Christingle and Crib Service. This was very well attended and when the children received their Christingles they circled the church with the candles lit, the effect was magical. The children each put pieces of straw to the crib scene as well as singing many songs.

Later the annual Carol service was held in a packed church with extra chairs being brought in. The recently formed Church Choir sang some solos and the hand bell ringers played three tunes. The singing of the familiar and favourite Christmas carols was enthusiastic.

At 11.30pm the Mass of the Nativity was held with a number of new people joining members of the regular congregation to welcome the new born King.
The following morning the mass was at Barkby.
26th December the mass was at Barkby where combined congregations from Syston and Barkby celebrated together.

Eleven30
There was a break in services for the combined service to say goodbye to Liz Angell and for Remembrance Sunday.
Services continue at 11.30am through December, when the theme will be the Advent preparation for Christmas. After Christmas services continue from Sunday 1st January.

Ladies Guild
On 24th October we were once again visited by David Tideswell who talked about garden birds in winter. He brings lots of beautiful photographs of all sorts of birds in his own garden. It is David’s unusual style of delivery that makes his visits rather special. He does work for the BBC and is very knowledgeable about his subject and it made for a very memorable evening.
DI Mee

Owing to illness, our planned speaker for 14th November was unable to be with us, so felicity Austin kindly stepped in and spoke to us about Holidays from the 1800s to the present time. We heard about different holidays from rich people to the middle classes, because with the coming of the railways many more people were able to afford holidays which had, of course, previously been denied them. We had a sing song and plenty of laughs and a most enjoyable evening.
Sheila Borderick

Walsingham
A group from church went on pilgrimage to Walsingham and had a wonderful time. Worship, prayer, silence and plenty of fellowship, blessed by wonderful weather which meant we could enjoy the lovely gardens and when walking around the village. See picture above.
Lesley Middleton did a fantastic job organising the whole thing, no easy task!

Historic Churches Ride and Stride
The final result of the money raised is £312.50 half of which will come back to our church.

Ladies Guild
Our meeting on 26th September was a visit from Val Williams who told us about her years visiting Woodchester Park in Gloucestershire.
This is a beautiful parkland and lakes which belong to the National Trust.
Over the past ten years Val has visited many times and taken parties of children to this lovely place.
She has a wonderful collection of photographs of the park and the wildlife that live there. With her knowledgeable and witty commentary it was a most interesting evening.
Unfortunately for our meeting on 10th October the speaker was taken ill and could not attend. However Janet Burgin stepped into the breach with a very inventive quiz about chocolate bars and sweets. It had us scratching our heads. A most enjoyable time was had by everyone
Di Mee

Liz Angell
Our curate is leaving us to move to a group of parishes in Bridgnorth. Her last Sunday service will be on 6th November at 10.30am when the congregations of the 10.00am and eleven30 will be together to say goodbye. There will be a bring and share lunch afterwards. See picture below.

Liz is moving to the beautiful countryside of the Severn Valley. Bridgnorth lies between the towns and cities of the West Midlands and the hills and open country of the Welsh borders. The Bridgnorth Team consists of nine churches and Liz will be responsible for two parishes on the outskirts of Bridgnorth. She will also have other specific responsibilities across the Team.

Liz came to the churches here in July 2008 and she has enjoyed working here. She is really grateful for all the love, support and prayers that she has received over the last three years.

Canon David White, the Team Rector at St Peter and St Paul’s and St Mary’s, said, ‘it’s always a significant moment when a member of the clergy team leaves. We all wish Liz well for the future. She has many gifts and abilities and has done some fantastic work here, our loss is certainly Bridgnorth’s gain! We will miss her and are grateful for all that she has done with us.’

Table Top Sale
A steady stream of people passed through the crowded hall as every stall was booked. There was a good variety of merchandise and many people grabbed themselves a bargain. There was also an opportunity to enjoy a hot drink and delicious home made cakes. A profit of £306 was added to church funds.

Carnival
What a pleasure it was to hand out free cup cakes to anyone passing and show that our church isn’t all about asking for money! Interesting reactions of surprise and discussions arose.

Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust – Ride and Stride
The 10th September had been forecast as going to be wet and very windy. In the event the cyclists were able to stay dry but were definitely buffeted by the wind. Terry Farmer and Mick Streetly and the Morgan family Dave, Theresa, Ben and Rebecca did a brave job facing the elements to raise in excess of £250, half of which will come back to our own church.

Presentation Service
At the service before the summer break a thank you presentation was made to reverend John Leonard and his wife for all their hard work creating and leading the Eleven30 service.
The Eleven30 service restarts on Sunday 4th September at 11.30am. It will include the usual songs, talk and prayers and of course there will be activities for the children as well as refreshments for everybody.