ST. PETER'S DAY was on June 29th. All Church of England churches have a dedication. Round us we have St. Aidan, New Parks; St. Mary, Anstey; St. Philip and St. James in both Groby and Ratby; St.Bartholomew in Kirby Muxloe; St.Andrew in Leicester Forest East.

Inside our church we have three stained glass windows featuring St. Peter. One features Peter preaching holding a copy of the scriptures, and a set of keys. Another shows Peter with John and Mary Magdalene on Easter morning looking into the cave tomb where Jesus had been buried, and finding the empty graveclothes lying there. The third shows the risen Jesus appearing to Peter and flock of sheep, reminding us that Peter had to be re-commissioned to ‘care for Jesus'’ sheep’ when Peter had denied even knowing Jesus three times.

On June 29th I gave everyone pictures of the three windows and asked people in small groups to tell each other the stories of the pictures. I encouraged them to suggest other significant events in Peter’s life for the other nine clear glass windows.

Peter is presented honestly in the New Testament. His story is of Jesus calling him, transforming him little by little, with setbacks, new beginnings and new discoveries on the way.

By John Sharpe