News & Events - Parish News

Hallowe’en & Bonfire Night

by Tom Moore

Posted on Tuesday 2 December 2025 at 8:57am

Fancy dress competition entrants

The annual fireworks display and bonfire was held at church on the evening of Friday 31 October, and a great time was had by all in attendance. Many of the children who came really entered into the spirit of Hallowe’en by dressing up in Hallowe’en fancy dress, and the evening started with hot drinks in the Parish Centre whilst the fancy dress competition was judged by choir member Lisa Geary. Well done and thanks to those who dressed up, including one or two adults! In the meantime, the Guy was being made ready to take his place on top of the bonfire out in the church garden.

The main event was a resounding success, with a blazing fire burning throughout (the embers were still warm the next morning), and spectacular fireworks display. Regrettably, although many saw the funny side, the fire brigade turned up part way through after having received a false report that a tree in the church grounds was on fire. Fortunately, the fireman in charge of the watch saw that the event was well organised and safe, and after a quick inspection of the premises the fire engine trundled off down The Drive. After the excitement of the fire and fireworks, everyone went into the Parish Centre for a hearty meal, which was traditional Guy Fawkes night fare.

Many thanks to those who helped organise this very successful community event, notably Andrew Geary, Ian Parker, Adam Setterfield and Dave Wilson who helped dig the fire pit, and Heidi Moore and Kay Warçaba who laid on a true feast for a hungry throng of around 65 people. Special mention goes to Andrew Geary who helped me fill the fire pit in a few days later. That’s a job that is at best unattractive and is very hard physical work!

Thanks to everyone who supported this event in any way, which was a fundraiser for the Friends of St Matthew’s Music. It’s great to stage these events which bring so many people together for fun, food and fellowship.

December's Pastoral Letter from the Vicar

What on earth are you waiting for?

Posted on Tuesday 2 December 2025 at 8:10am

Fr Nicholas

For Christians, one word recaptures the essence of Advent: we are waiting. But that word presents us with a problem. How many of us, honestly, are waiting? And if we are, what exactly are we waiting for?

Plenty of people say, “I just can’t wait for Christmas to come,” and for all sorts of good reasons: the return of loved ones long absent, a welcome break from classroom tyranny, a new computer game, that outfit in the shop window, Christmas carols and all their charm, or the annual battle on the north face of the Christmas turkey. Good reasons indeed.

But how many of us find ourselves saying, “I just can’t wait for Christ to come”?

Here lies the difficulty: why should we wait for Christ to come at all? Why wait for someone who has already come, someone we already have, someone who is actually here? Christ came one midnight clear, wrapped in the swaddling bands of a child. And when he left us, paradoxically he remained with us. He took from us the physical charm of his presence – the face his mother knew so well, the voice that was music to the ears of his friends. And still he is here, now.

So what exactly are we waiting for? His final coming on a pink cloud, separating saved sheep from damned goats? If so, you might not want to hold your breath.

If there is no Christ to wait for, it is little wonder that Advent means so little to the average Christian, let alone to anyone else, and plays second fiddle to the advertisements urging us to buy, buy, buy. I am not saying we shouldn’t celebrate the first Christmas, remembering it lovingly and reliving it each year in our worship. I am asking whether waiting for Christ makes any sense when he surrounds us and rests within us. Is our waiting mere pretending – playacting, holy make-believe?

Then there is the human experience of waiting – both joyful and painful. What was it like for Mary to wait for Jesus? As a man I can only imagine; only mothers truly know. Jesus was there, and yet not quite there – not in the way she longed for, not as he would be in a stable a hundred miles away. In the meantime there was the paradox of pregnancy: years of joy offset by days of discomfort, anxiety and fear, and sleepless nights. Those sleepless nights I do know something about!

And then came that night – amid the dung and dust of a Palestinian stable – when Jesus was born of her. He came to light, came from her to her. Of course, he was hers before, but what a difference one night makes. This was what Mary had been waiting for; here Jesus became real, enfleshed, in a way he had never been before.

So what does all this say about our Advent? It tells us that we do not wait for Christ to move toward us; we wait for Christ to come alive within us. The real question is: how alive is he for you? If Christ is thrillingly alive for you, if he is as real and breathing a presence as your nearest and dearest, close this magazine and go and do something more worthwhile.

But if Christ within you is still an embryo, if you have not felt him move or been startled by his gentle kicking, if you do not embrace him as a friend, then perhaps his birth in you is long overdue. If Christ is someone you ‘soak up’ on Sundays because the ritual is familiar, while the rest of the week is Christ-less (not sinful, just Christ-less), then these next twenty days may be demanding ones.

What did Mary do when the angel left her? “Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country” – to the home of Elizabeth, who needed her help. Here our own Christmas frenzy might actually help us. Every shop window and colourful commercial urges us to give. What we must rediscover is that the best gift is always symbolic – regnant with meaning that money cannot buy. A gift is most perfect when it stands for the giver, when in the giving I offer something of myself.

Like Mary, we must activate our waiting. Give yourself. Bring Christ to your neighbour, especially to those who resemble him only because they seem pinned to a cross. If, like Mary, you carry Christ to someone who needs your care, the effect can be quietly transforming.

This kind of Advent is not easy. Twenty-odd shopping days to Christmas; twenty or so days to shop for Christ – for a living, breathing Christ. It might feel too short if we had to travel to Bethlehem or Calvary, or Ukraine.

But the good news for Advent shoppers is that the risen Christ has been seen here. In fact, you can find him anywhere in Northampton, on any face – if you want to, and if you have eyes to see.

Happy hunting.

Your sincere friend and parish priest,
Fr Nicholas

November's Pastoral Letter from the Vicar

Posted on Saturday 1 November 2025 at 7:00am

Fr Nicholas

Dear friends,

As the Christian year draws to its close, November invites us into a deep season of remembrance, reflection, and renewal. The light fades early, the air sharpens, and creation itself seems to slow and pause – inviting us to look both backward with thanksgiving and forward in hope.

We begin the month with the Feast of All Saints (Sunday 2nd), giving thanks for the great company of men and women in every generation who have borne faithful witness to Christ. Their lives remind us that holiness is not a rare achievement but a calling for us all – the quiet, steady work of love, prayer, and service often in ordinary places. In them we glimpse the glory of God’s kingdom already breaking into our world.

The following day brings All Souls’ Day, the ‘Commemoration of the Faithful Departed’, Monday 3rd, 7.30pm), when we remember before God those we have loved but see no longer. This year, as in past years, we shall hold our Requiem Mass to pray for the departed, for the repose of their souls, and especially to uphold the recently bereaved, whom we have invited personally to join us. These moments of remembrance, of memories treasured, hold together both sorrow and thanksgiving, as we commend our loved ones to the mercy and peace of the risen Christ.

Midway through the month we gather for Remembrance Sunday, when our parish keeps silence and solemn thanksgiving for all who have given their lives in the service of others. During the Act of Commemoration, the names of Kingsley’s 168 Fallen, listed in our Memorial Chapel, will again be read aloud before the Silence. Each name represents a unique story of courage and loss, woven into the fabric of our community. In remembering them, we pray also for peace – and renew our resolve to relearn past lessons, and be makers of peace in our own time.

November’s liturgical rhythm also carries a thread of kingship throughout – not the worldly kind that seeks power or privilege, but the reign of Christ, whose throne is the Cross and whose crown is love. This theme reaches its fulfilment on the Feast of Christ the King, the final Sunday of the Church’s year. On that day we proclaim that all things find their meaning and completion in him – that Christ is Lord not only of the Church, but of all creation, all history, all hope.

And then, as one liturgical year closes, another begins. On Sunday 30 November, the First Sunday of Advent, we begin again the journey of waiting and watching for the coming of our Lord – both in the manger throne of Bethlehem and in the fullness of his kingdom yet to come. Advent’s quiet expectancy calls us to renew our faith, deepen our prayer, and open our lives afresh to God’s transforming and freely offered life.

As we move through this month of remembrance and kingdom hope, may we hold before God the whole communion of saints – those who have gone before us, known and unknown, those with whom we walk now, and those yet to come. And may the love of Christ, who reigns over all things, guide us as we continue the mission entrusted to us here at St Matthew’s: to be a community of faith, welcome, and witness in the heart of Kingsley and beyond.

Your sincere friend and parish priest,
Fr Nicholas

2025 Ride+Stride

by Dorrie Parker

Posted on Monday 27 October 2025 at 2:27pm

2025 Ride+Stride

The sponsorship money for Ride+Stride has now been sent off to the Trust; £285 was the grand total (half of which, £142.50, will come back to St Matthew’s). Those who gift aided their contribution added another £35 for the Trust too. Thank you so much for your generosity.

The annual ‘Ride+Stride for Churches’ is organised by the county Historic Churches Trust – voluntary organisations that raise money for the restoration and maintenance of historic churches and chapels, supported by the national Churches Trust. The NHCT Annual Report can be found in the bookstall area, highlighting various churches/chapels and why they have received their grants over the past year, and at the back details reports from various churches from last year’s event, and includes one from our own Nick Bailey. Do have a look and maybe be inspired to give it a go next year?

This year’s report of our efforts can be read on our News & Events - Historic Churches Trust Ride & Stride page

Cathedral in Crisis

Posted on Monday 27 January 2025 at 10:37am

The Very Revd Chris Dalliston
(Dean of Peterborough)

Dear Friends,

Safeguarding concerns have presented a big challenge for the Church of England nationally, but, nearer to home, the now well- publicised financial issues facing our Cathedral have helped to bring home the challenge we are all facing, whether as individuals or as parishes, to make ends meet or to fund properly the ministry and mission of our church. Jesus said, “the poor you have with you always” – and it can sometimes seem as if we are always poor! From a Cathedral perspective it’s disappointing to be facing yet another financial pinch point when we’ve done so much to improve our financial management, and been so creative in the delivery of a fantastic array of exhibitions, events and activities. But like every other business, we’ve all of us been facing the same issues; Covid, the cost of living crisis, the rising costs of fuel and employment – they’ve all continued to pile pressure on our balance sheets.

We have launched an emergency appeal here, and we pray that that may be fruitful. But “we are afflicted but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair” writes St Paul in 2 Corinthians, and Jesus again and again called us not to be afraid or anxious because “your heavenly Father knows you need all these things”. The real challenge for us all is not one of systems, or process, or finance or funding – but faith.

Whatever we face as individuals or as communities – and we need to be responsible in our stewardship and disciplined in our actions – but above all we need to renew our trust in the living God: “strive first for the kingdom of God... and all these things shall be given to you as well”. (Matthew 6.33)

The Very Revd Chris Dalliston
Dean of Peterborough

Live-streaming, GDPR and Your Consent

Posted on Monday 16 September 2024 at 11:30am

Online live-streaming of services

Some of St Matthew's services (most Sunday mornings and some special services) are live-streamed or recorded for those who cannot attend church in person. Under GDPR, the church must gain the consent of anyone whose image may be captured, as this constitutes collection of "personal data". This includes clergy, readers/intercessors, musicians and congregation.

Whilst every attempt is made not to capture the faces of members of the congregation, this may occasionally happen if people turn around or move around the church during the service. The exception is communion, when the congregation is not filmed. The side aisles and back of the nave are so far as possible film-free areas not covered by the camera. Anyone whose personal data is collected must give their consent. Consent forms are available in church and online . The full policy can be read on our parish website or on the noticeboards in church.

Please read Our Privacy Policy - Filming & Photography and if you are happy to, give your consent by downloading, printing, signing, and handing in the form to a church representative or the Parish Office on your next visit. The consent form can be found at the bottom of the page.

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