St Peter's Church Notices
- Change in regular service times from Sunday 11th October to 9.15am (services 2nd & 4th Sunday in the month)
- St. Peter’s Christmas Day Service Friday 25 December 10am
From the Rector of the Isle of Ely Benefice
October 2026
Dear Friends,
I have loved blues music for as long as I can remember. Through the words and the feeling of the music
itself, it expresses feelings and emotions with a raw honesty that is rare. I also love the book of Psalms in
the Bible. The psalms were originally composed as Jewish worship music and the words are often
devastatingly honest about life’s experiences.
I don’t claim to be unique in seeing the connection. In the introduction to a 1990s Bible Commentary, Bono,
the lead singer of U2, described the psalmist as ‘the first bluesman’, and I can completely understand why.
Not all the Psalms are ‘bluesy’ – some are magnificent expressions of praise and thanksgiving – but I can
easily imagine the category of psalms known as the Psalms of Lament being accompanied by wailing
electric guitars and a soulful Hammond organ.
The great American blues guitarist and singer Buddy Guy (still selling out concert halls aged 90) is on record
as saying, “When you gets the blues, you play ‘em, and when you plays the blues, you lose ‘em”. It’s the
same with the Psalms of Lament.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with expressing our emotions directly and honestly to God. If you take
the time even to just to flip through the Book of Psalms you will see exactly what I mean! But more than
that, it’s a healthy thing to do. God, who knows all the secrets of our hearts anyway, longs to hear from us,
his children – on good days and on bad. It does us good to be honest with God, and God is big enough to
receive every type of emotion from us.
For all that I love the Blues, too much of it in one go can be a little depressing. That’s where the genre’s
cousin, Gospel music, lands with me. Long-dead artists like Mahalia Jackson captured the honesty of
expression within blues music whilst turning it into the praises of God. She lost her blues by singing them
away. The great Sister Rosetta Tharpe did the same, whilst heading off in the musical direction of
rock’n’roll. I love listening to them both.
How did they do that? Because of their faith that, no matter what befalls, God is still God. They knew
through life’s sufferings that pain and doubt are real, and that these give rise to all sorts of questions. But in
what the Church recognises as a fallen world, God doesn’t promise that we won’t face problems. However,
God does promise, through Christ who came to earth as one of us, to walk with us as we face all that life throws at us, the good and the bad – and that this is a sure ground for hope.
Time to go and play some blues piano….
Chris Hollingshurst
From the Rector of the Isle of Ely Benefice
September 2026
Dear Friends,
Time flies! I have now been in post for a little over four months. On the one hand, given the histories of our local villages, this isn’t very long at all. But it has been quite a whirlwind for me, and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has given me such a warm welcome.
What else to say now? So far, your parish magazine editor has published magazine letters from me which have related Christian faith to the Eurovision Song Contest, football’s World Cup, and the restfulness of August. This month I want to think about what I have been up to during these early days. And it starts with the fact that, unlike traditional clergy posts, I have been given a brand-new role for a traditional setting. There are still relatively few trailblazers around! But rather than seeking sympathy, I am excited by the challenge.
I and those working with me across this eleven-parish group are just at the start of finding out how to work and partner together. Because our church communities are mostly small, we need new ways to think about how we will work and worship, and how to do together things we can’t manage on our own. One headline is that I will be working with others to appoint a second priest and an administrator so that, alongside our heroic churchwardens and others, we can serve our parishes (which means the villages not just the churches) more effectively.
Whilst the planning goes on in the background, all the usual work of a parish priest has started to come my way, and it is still so important. For me it means leading Sunday and other services, supporting individuals who are struggling, working with wedding couples and funeral families, receiving enquiries about baptisms (what some call christenings), attending church and community events, meeting with other clergy for ongoing training and development including in safeguarding and – in this role – dealing with more emails than I have ever thought possible! And, of course, there are more potential contacts I am looking forward to making.
Ultimately, a priest’s work is about attentiveness—to God, to others, and to themselves. It means listening deeply, avoiding the trap of doing too much too quickly, and remembering that from small things, big things come. Most importantly, it means praying constantly for the people we serve. I hope to meet lots of you in coming months so that I and your parish churches can pray in an informed way.
The inspiration behind all of this? The humility of Jesus Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve.
Chris Hollingshurst
St Peters Church, Wentworth will have a new Rector from 18th April 2026
Your new Rector… in his own words
It has been suggested that I write a piece for parish magazines and websites across the villages I will be serving – which I am more than happy to do. My name is Chris Hollingshurst, I am married with three adult children, and have been ordained since 1999. Prior to that I worked as a logistics planning and operations manager for a major parcels company. I am passionate about faith in Jesus Christ and the ministry of his Church, but when you get to know me, you may also see me getting a little excited about different forms of music, football and motorsport.
So what am I currently doing? For the last five years I have been what is called a Residentiary Canon at Guildford Cathedral. For those not familiar with Church structures, a Residentiary Canon is simply a full-time clergy position within a Cathedral community, working with the Dean and other colleagues as part of a team. In Guildford I have been responsible for Public Engagement and Pastoral Care at the Cathedral.
Prior to coming to Guildford I have been a vicar in two different Surrey and SW London parishes and, at various stages, have also been involved in vocations and schools work for the Dioceses of Guildford and Southwark. In my first clergy post, I served as a rural Curate (assistant priest) in thirteen villages to the west of Cambridge, also within Ely Diocese. Indeed, I was ordained in Ely Cathedral and am looking forward to ‘coming home’.
Because I started in village ministry, spending time with those beyond the walls of church buildings as well as regular worshippers has always been a crucial part of my ministry. This will continue to be so as I get to know the group of eleven parishes legally called (wait for it!) ‘The Benefice of The Isle of Ely Villages Team’. I will of course be spending time in each of them: Coveney, Haddenham and Aldreth, Little Downham, Little Thetford, Mepal, Stretham, Sutton, Wentworth, Wilburton, Witcham and Witchford, and I hope to support and enhance the faithful ministry presence and witness in each community.
Given such a large grouping of church communities, a principal way to do all this is by working collaboratively with the parishes, within what is called the Ely Deanery (which stretches to Soham and Littleport), with the Diocese of Ely, and with other relevant partners. Together we will be seeking to build ‘a community of communities’ across the Isle of Ely as a whole. This has to be a priority if we are to grow Christian faith and serve the wider local community in 2026. Given the size and geography of the Benefice, I am looking forward to welcoming a Benefice Team Vicar, and possibly other colleagues, to share in this work.
I’d love to meet as many of you as possible when the Acting Bishop of Ely installs me as Benefice Team Rector just after Easter, on Saturday 18th April. The service will be held at St Andrew’s Sutton at 2.30pm, timed to make it easier for all ages to be present. All are welcome, whether you currently worship in one of the 11 churches or not, even (and perhaps especially) if you are simply curious!
My wife, one of my sons and our little dog will be moving to Little Downham in late March. We plan to take in the Fenland air most days, so do say hello if you see us walking the dog in your village at any stage. I look forward to meeting you all!
January 2026
PASTORAL LETTER August 2024
JOURNEYS
Dear Friends,
The school summer term came to an end yesterday, and by the time you read this you may well be away on holiday with family or friends, or a ‘stay-cation’ based at home. The past couple of weeks have been poignant for me as I have taken my last ‘assemblies’ (properly known these days as ‘collective worship’) and said my farewells; the five Church Schools and four county/academy schools/colleges in our Isle of Ely Villages Team area have been a notable commitment for the work of ministry here alongside parish ministry in the eleven villages. I have also been Rural Dean of Ely since January 2023, working collaboratively across all 16 parishes with colleagues and bringing together new plans that set the direction of travel and priorities for the next quinquennium.
For me, it is also a time of leaving as my 2-year interim post here draws to a close on August 31st The new team is in place and this month sees the advertisement in the Church Times for a Team Rector to come and pick up the reins, then also appointing a Team Vicar. Whilst my post began on 1st September 2022, I was welcomed into the deanery and was privileged to also preach at choral evensong in the cathedral on 5th November that year; this September 1st the cathedral is kindly book-ending my time here at the same 4pm service by way of a farewell from the deanery, to which you are of course warmly welcome.
Beyond the immediacy of all this, I am taking a small group to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the Northumbrian coast in late September, which was where St Aidan founded the original monastery in 633AD, having travelled from the Isle of Iona, St Columba’s monastery in the Inner Hebrides. I have led pilgrimages to both over recent years, and so, taken from the Iona Worship Book, I close with some prayers from their Leaving Liturgy…..
As Aidan laid down his books and the security of the monastery; so we lay down what is past and look to the future. As Brigid of Kildare, with a cross of rushes, comforted a stranger; so we take into daily life signs of hope and healing. As Patrick travelled ever on, as Margaret of Scotland built community; so we reach beyond ourselves, to share the lives of others and touch a wider world.
For the roots of all our communities; we thank you living God. For what we have shared together and for the life we share with others; we thank you living God. For the path that lies before us now, and our futures in your hands; we thank you living God.
And so, by way of Blessing
May God who is present in sunrise and nightfall, and in the crossing of the sea, guide your feet as you go.
May God, who is with you when you sit and when you stand, encompass you with love and lead you by the hand.
May God who knows your path and the places where you rest, be with you in your waiting, be your good news for sharing, and lead you in the way that is everlasting.
AMEN
Churchyard Re-Wilding Update May 2024
The churchyard has started slowly this year, really due to the very wet spring (if we had one at all!).
Nevertheless, we had a good show of bulbs earlier and colour is now spreading everywhere to the south of the church building.
One problem was that the Flower Meadow under the Holly tree didn’t self-set this year. Last year seed that had dropped from the year before meant that there was nothing much to do to get a mass of colourful wild flowers. This year, however, the plot became over whelmed with grass, probably because the dropped seed rotted in the ground due to the wet, didn’t germinate, or rotted after germinating. As a result, we have cleared the plot and started again by sowing new wild flower seed. We look forward to colourful wild flowers in the months to come.
Otherwise, we have tidied up a bit to produce a tranquil space. Indeed, a lady runner from Witchford today told me that she runs from Witchford to our church and back so that she can appreciate the look of the churchyard and experience its tranquillity.
Andrew Finch
