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Gildersome St Peter’s Church is a Christian community in the Anglican tradition which serves Gildersome, in South Leeds, a village with a population of about 5,000. The Church’s mission statement, which was drawn up in 2008 by the congregation, is very short but describes our purpose: To know God, show God and share God.
St Peter’s is described by many as welcoming and lively. In every sense it is a ‘people’s church’. There are activities and groups which meet spiritual and social needs. There are facilities which can be used by the community. There is something for all ages and all levels of experience.
The Church’s Transformational Plan – a 5 year ‘blueprint’ of where we believe God is calling us – is challenging us to seek God’s purpose for us as individuals and as His Body in this place. The ‘Plan’ is divided into 5 areas:
§ Worship
§ Prayer and Spirituality
§ Care
§ Evangelism and Mission
§ Community Outreach and Involvement
We realise that the work God is calling us to demands us to step out in faith; to exercise the Gifts of the Holy Spirit; and to recognise that many people key to the plan are not, as yet, members of the congregation!
We’d like to tell you, briefly, how we got to this point.
In 1982 the ‘old’ St Peter’s Church was demolished when the foundations subsided and the building became unsafe. Shortly afterwards the Church School was burned down in an arson attack. This left the Church with no buildings.
It was at this time that the small congregation learned a very important lesson; that the church is the people and not the buildings. They continued to meet in borrowed accommodation at the Village Methodist Church and during that time learned to love each other and minister together. It was a humbling experience.
In 1985 the old school canteen was converted, by the congregation, into a space for worship. This was a place where, squashed together in a small space, they learned to serve each other and the importance of fellowship.
In 1992 the ‘new’ St Peter’s Church building was opened. The building is actually several ‘buildings’ each of them built on different ‘raft’ foundations and designed to look like an encampment of tents, to reflect the fact that we are all on a journey – a spiritual journey to a greater destination.
The main worship space is octagonal and many people have asked why!
The reason lies in the Holy Land! A small group of the congregation were on a pilgrimage when they came to Capernaum on the north shore of Lake Galilee. Much of the Biblical town had been excavated by archaeologists. A few metres from the synagogue was the home of the disciple, Peter, after whom our Church is named.
Excavation has showed that this house was converted into a church during the first century – and it is octagonal. As soon as the congregation members saw it they all thought how right it would be that the ‘new’ St Peter’s in Gildersome, should be built that shape too.
The resulting building won the Leeds Award for Architecture in 1992 – but more importantly became the place where God grew His ‘living stones’ numerically – but also in love, fellowship and service.
We hope that in exploring this website that you will recognise the fact that St Peter’s is a special place where many people have encountered the living God – and have been touched by His Holy Spirit.
Should you decide to ‘give us a try’ you will be made very welcome. Your visit could be, for you, the beginning of a voyage of discovery, as it has been for us, into the goodness and love of God Himself – because that is what really matters. Not the shape of the building, or the history behind it, but our experience of His presence in our lives. |