Home
St. Peter's Church serves the community of the parish and also people from the surrounding area who are attracted by its orderly, traditional style of worship. It has always maintained the Catholic and Apostolic faith as the Church of England received it from the Undivided Church.
As Anglo-Catholics we emphasise that, in seeking to evangelise each new generation, the Church must take care not to abandon the teaching and practice of the early Christian centuries. The Bible, the Creeds, the Sacraments and the Church's Ministry are not ours to change. They were received from the Lord by the Church in apostolic times and have been faithfully handed down from generation to generation. We seek to pass them on to our children and grandchildren.
Recent changes in the Church of England have prompted St. Peter's to seek the pastoral and sacramental care of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, working in co-operation with the Bishops of Salisbury and of Ramsbury. The parish has affiliated to the Forward in Faith movement in order to secure its guidance and assistance. Resolutions A and B are in place, and our petition for extended Episcopal oversight under the Act of Synod (Resolution C) has been granted. [If you want to study more about St. Peter's place in the Anglican Church, the Wikipedia article, which can be reached via the link on the navigation bar on the left, will give you links into other articles within the encyclopaedia about the elements of our faith and practice.]
Keynote Sermons
The full text of sermons preached at St Peter's. Two of the sermons by our Priest-in-Charge, Fr Peter Moss set out clearly both the reasons for disagreement with recent rulings of the Church of England Synod and also what Anglo-Catholics should aspire to be, both of which met with very strong approval from the congregation - in one case drawing a round of applause, a first for an Anglican sermon, as far as we know from our experiences.
6th September,2009 Mark 7:8 - Laying aside the
commandments of God, you hold the tradition of men
The sermon asks what a "Catholic Parish" should be. The seven points listing
the characteristics of a Catholic Parish give us a challenging checklist to see how far we at
St Peter's measure up. This sermon did not meet with a round of applause,
but did meet with requests for a printed version, which Fr Peter duly
provided. Click here to download.
2nd January, 2011 John 1:1-3 - In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with
God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made.
This sermon was delivered by our Assistant Priest, Fr Derek Frost.
The sermon explains with great clarity the meaning of these verses and their
significance for our lives. The verses not only happened to be the
Gospel reading for that day but also are read out at the end of every Mass
throughout the year, Click here to download.
1st May, 2011, John 20:19-31 - Our Assistant Priest,
Fr Derek Frost described in a dramatic way in his sermon for Easter 2 the emotional roller-coaster that the
disciples experienced from Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, through his
arrest, trial, crucifixion to his death, which left them afterwards with
feelings of utter desolation. Then the appearance of the risen Lord turns their
“dread and fear “ to joy; they experience “that Peace of God that passes all
understanding”, a “foreshadowing of the power that would come at Pentecost”.
An important lesson that Fr Derek draws is that:
“The Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church must always teach the faith delivered to
the Saints, not watering it down or adding to it in the false hope we can make
it more acceptable.”
The Church is called to do what Thomas did, that is to “make known the Master
and proclaim Him as Lord and God”.
Click here to download.
Sermons on Christian Living
In Terry Gaylard’s History of St Peter's (see History page) he wrote: 'People seeking sustenance for their spiritual needs have found in St Peter’s a haven of rest, a centre of inspiration and teaching, a place of prayer and re-dedication for their lives.’ In this part of the website we will make available downloads of some - but by no means all - of the sermons which offer "inspiration and teaching" every Sunday at St Peter's.
'Elijah on Mount Horeb … The Still Small Voice' 1 Kings 19: 9-18,
a sermon preached by Fr Derek Frost on Sunday 7 August, 2011. In
this sermon he tells us how Elijah sought refuge on Mount Horeb - the Holy
Mountain of God - after a conflict with those who had forsaken the true
God and worshipped Baal. This conflict had left him desolate and
worn out. God did not speak to Elijah in a hurricane, an earthquake or
fire but in a “still small voice”. In the sermon you can find out what
instructions this still small voice gave to Elijah, and what it means for us
today. Click here to download.