St Peter's City Centre Church partners with debt counselling charity

LOCAL people struggling with overwhelming debt are set to get free help from an acclaimed charity opening a new centre in Derby. Growing debt counselling charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has partnered with St. Peter’s Church, in the City Centre, to bring its in-depth service to the area.

Derby is one of 16 places opening a centre during May – rare good news for people who are seeing the biggest squeeze to their income since the two world wars, according to recent research.

CAP offers people a uniquely in-depth, caring service to people with spiralling personal debt. Every client is visited in their own home and supported face-to-face until the day they are debt free.

The free debt counselling has been described as “unsurpassed” by TV’s Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis and “staggering” by Prince Charles when he visited a centre last year.

CAP’s CEO Matt Barlow said: “Our experience shows that there will be a huge amount of people in Derby who believe there is no hope left. Very likely their debt will have been caused by a change in circumstances such as job loss, pay cuts, illness or relationship breakdown.

“Creditors will be ringing all day, the letters will be piling up and their sleep, health and relationships will all be suffering. Yet all this is often hidden because of the shame attached.

Derby Centre Manager Grace Palmer said: “We’re just so pleased to be able to partner the care of our church with the financial expertise of CAP’s head office in Bradford, Yorkshire. However bad a situation can look, we know we will be able to provide a hope and a solution.  CAP saw 71 people become debt free last month. We’re delighted to think some of those will be from Derby in the future.”

The charity now has 160 centres around the UK currently supporting £66m of secondary debts for its clients regardless of income, age, gender, background or faith.

 To find out more www.capuk.org or call 0800 328 0006

Ends

About Christians Against Poverty:

Christians Against Poverty is a home-grown debt counselling charity which is determined to reduce poverty in the UK caused by debt. It partners its financial expertise with the care of the local church to offer free debt help and a solution to people through 160 centres. The fast-growing charity intends to have a debt-counselling CAP centre in 500 towns and cities across the UK by 2015. For more about CAP see www.capuk.org

For further information
Please consider the local centre as your great new contact on issues of personal finance and local poverty – and possibly the source of case studies in the years to come.

Contact CAP’s National PR Manager Marianne Clough
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or telephone 01274 761924

CBER report as reported by BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13029870

During April/May, the 16 new CAP centres are opening in: Bexhill on Sea, Brighton, Birmingham Central, Derby, Doncaster, Kircaldy & Burntisland, Leeds & Wharfedale, Leeds East & South, London Greenwich, London Merton, Penicuik, Pontefract, Saffron Walden, Southampton East, Sunderland and Yeovil. Extra debt coaches have been taken on Belfast East, Chichester, Causeway Coast and Woking.

What an Easter Experience! Killamarsh, Easter 2011

During the period from 8th - 14th April 2011 the Parish Church of St Giles , Killamarsh took the decision to  offer to our community ‘ Experience Easter', an interactive way to explore the Easter Story with children.  Having taken the decision to use this resource, we sent out invitations to all three schools in our village , St Giles (Church Aided) School and Killamarsh Infants & Junior Schools, not really knowing what the response would be to this invitation.

It was truly an answer to our prayers when all three schools came back and said they would welcome the opportunity to help the children and young people feel the impact of the Easter message upon their lives through the six stations of the ‘Experience Easter’ resource , which are as follows:

1. Palm Sunday - ‘Hopes and Dreams’
2. Jesus washes the disciples' feet - ‘Servant King’
3. The Last Supper - ‘Remember Me’
4. The Garden of Gethsemane - ‘Alone’
5. The Crucifixion - ‘Sharing our Sorrows’
6. The Empty Tomb -’Resurrection’

The children arrived at St Giles Church at their allotted time to be greeted by  members and friends of St Giles dressed in 1st Century costumes, made by one of our Church family as we wanted to make this a truly authentic experience for everyone concerned.  Once they had settled down, the children listened to a simple version of the Easter Story before being split into groups  of 5 or 6 to proceed to the first of the stations.

Each group had approximately 8 minutes at  the first five stations, and during this time they would learn to appreciate the actual time line of events in the final week of Jesus’ life. At many of the stations the children were encouraged to participate in various activities - they drew or wrote on pebbles their ‘Hopes and Dreams’ for the future, they experienced the ‘Servant King’ as our Lord washed his disciples feet.They shared  in the Last Supper at which our Lord asked his disciples to ‘Remember Me’, they experienced being ‘Alone ‘ with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane by making models in plasticine of things which frightened them, they felt our Lord’s sorrows by writing beautiful and moving prayers at the foot of the Cross, after which all the groups came together at station 6 to celebrate in the ‘joyful’ Resurrection’ of our Lord. 

When asked what they had enjoyed most about the experience some said ‘All of it', others enjoyed the meal, making their models in the Garden, but overall the children said it had helped them to understand more about the meaning of Easter and the ‘New Life’ we receive.  The teachers and Headteachers were very impressed with the presentation as one said - ”Children need awe and wonder” and she felt they had received that through this experience. Another said that if we were doing anything like this again, to be sure to let them know.

As the children returned back to school they were to receive a bookmark to remind them of their ‘Experience Easter’ visit and a small chocolate egg.  

In all over 500 schoolchildren came in to St Giles Church during this period, something which until now I think had been beyond our ‘Hopes and Dreams’ and it has been such a wonderful ‘mission  opportunity' for us as a Church.

Finally our thanks go to the 25 church members and friends who gave up their time to man the stations and shared the experience with the children. I think we all enjoyed the experience just as much as they did. If we had wanted to offer an experience like this last year, it would not have been possible, because we would not have had the numbers of people required to proceed .

So this truly has been an Easter Experience for us at St Giles. We are seeing our ‘New Life’ through our outreach in mission, and the growth in our Church family through those coming forward to share their gifts.  ‘What an Easter Experience’.

Christine Beach, Reader

The Journey of Faith (MMA 51)

MMA 51’s Alpha Course has been full of encouragements . . . At the start of the new course the leader asked the guests about where they were on the journey of faith. She suggested the analogy of a train travelling between Derby and London - were they perhaps at Loughborough, or at Luton?

The responses ranged from ‘still on the platform in Derby’, to ‘studying the timetable’ to ‘having a coffee in the café’ – many starting right at the beginning of the journey and rather nervous about doing anything that might take them closer to God. 

Ten weeks later and they stood together, praying for that same leader who was sick.  On leaving, they were reminded of the train metaphor – where are you now?  The replies were so different – from ‘oh, definitely on the train’, to ‘down to London and heading for the airport’.

For so many of us we have maybe paused on our journey – got off at some out of the way station and are watching the other trains whizzing by, unsure how to resume the trip.  But be assured, God won’t leave you behind – but like those new Christians, you need to trust in Him to help you to get moving ….

(Alicia Petty, Rectory, Sawley parish)

Plough Sunday, Hope, 23 January 2011

We celebrated Plough Sunday,at St Peter’s, Hope on 23 January when we welcomed Bishop
Alastair to our service. Plough Sunday is a traditional English celebration of the beginning of the
agricultural year, and celebrations usually involve bringing a plough into church with prayers for the blessing of the land.

A big congregation, including many neighbouring farmers and Young Farmers, admired the real
plough on display at the front of the church.

Bishop Alastair and Reverend Ian Davis, along with several Young Farmers, shared the service,
which included the blessing of the plough; various other farming activities; three sheepdogs and a certain Jack Russell with attitude. Unfortunately it was too early for a lamb, so this year a crook was blessed instead.

Bishop Alastair demonstrated in his sermon a broad knowledge of farming and farmers dating from his ministry in Oxfordshire and Lincolnshire, which struck a chord with the farming families present.

Afterwards he joined everyone at Loxley hall where Hope Valley Young Farmers were serving The Big Breakfast.

A most enjoyable occasion!

Keith Brown, Churchwarden