Christmas Services

All services at St. Peter's Church will be held today and tomorrow, regardless of weather and wind. Please make your choice to attend according to the weather conditions where you live. The church will remain open.

December 24 - 11 pm Christmas Eve Service
December 25 - 11 am Christmas Day Service

The Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene

And what a feast it was! We gathered on the beach under blue skies with the grey lag geese on the water, the oyster catchers on the shore, and the machair in full-bloom. We sang, we prayed, we celebrated the Eucharist, giving thanks for the Apostle to the Apostles and for the good and glorious Creation that we are part of.

The Apostle to the Apostles

On Monday , 22 July, we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the Apostle to the Apostles. We give thanks for the life and witness of this courageous woman. We give thanks for that early Easter morning when Mary, in a garden of all places, became the first witness to the Resurrection.

Our Eucharistic prayer tells us that 'Worship and praise belong to you, Father, in every place, and at all times.' So in the spirit of this devotion, and in honour of Mary Magdalene, we will be holding a Eucharist on 22 July at 11 am on the Barvas Beach. We will meet on the machair and decide on the location when all are gathered.  All are welcome.

Patronal Feast of St. Peter

It has been said that a church is to live fully into the life and witness of its patron saint. Today we celebrated the ministry of St. Peter - Simon bar Jona - Peter the Rock: a humble fisherman, who went on to become a fisher of people and the keeper of the Kingdom and the shepherd of souls. We celebrated the man who spoke boldly and directly, who had a hard time keeping his foot out of his mouth, who was fully human, fearlessly loving and serving his Lord and Master right to the very end. And so in the presence of that great cloud of witnesses, we sang, we listened to the movement of the Spirit through God's word, we prayed, we celebrated the Eucharist, and then...... we ate cake!

The Anamchara Fellowship

The Anamchara Fellowship is an ecumenical and joyous expression of new monasticism, bringing together ancient traditions of prayer, worship and pilgrimage within a contemporary context. For three days last week we were blessed to have them in our midst. We prayed together, travelled together, and ate and drank together. In a matter of days we became life-long friends. They also received two new Companions from the Isle of Lewis into the Fellowship.

The word 'Anamchara' is an ancient Celtic word that means 'soul friend' or 'spiritual mentor'; a person who travels with another through all the trials and joys of life. The Anamchara Fellowship is open to lay or ordained, married or single, women, men, or partners in a committed relationship. It promotes and upholds the following Rule of Life:

Simplicity of Life
- Seek to live without a spirit of accumulation
- Use all things with gentleness and respect
- Become extravagant with our love and care

Fidelity
- Live with gentleness of manner toward everyone
- Renounce all physical and verbal control over others
- Constancy toward the one with whom God has blessed us as mate or as Anamchara
- Consciously strive after peace and mercy for all

Obedience:
- Follow the Gospel imperatives of love and forgiveness
- Work within the context of the Church to which the member belongs, seeing the leadership and councils of the Church as guide
- Listen to the voice of God in those placed in authority over us in our congregations, dioceses and within the Fellowship

If you are interested in the Fellowship, please look at their website for further details:

www.anamcharafellowship.org