St Peter's has links with St James' Church, Agona Swedru, Ghana, Osteraker-Ostra Ryd, a parish in the Diocese of Stockholm in Sweden, and St Alban's, West Leigh in the Diocese of Porstmouth. (click on images to enlarge)
- Giles with members of St James', Sept 2007
- Giles with Benjamin - September 2007
- Giles preaches at Agona Swedru - September 2007
Agona Swedru
Many parishes in the Portsmouth diocese have a link with a parish in Ghana including St Peter's which is linked with St James' church in Agona Swedru, a market town about fifteen miles north of Winneba, which is on the coast about two thirds of the way from Cape Coast to Accra. The link was developed in the early 1990s and in September 2007, The vicar, Giles Harris-Evans, accompanied by churchwarden, Dick Parsons, made the second visit as part of a larger party of fourteen clergy and laity visiting other Ghanaian parishes. St James' church is in the diocese of Cape Coast, with which the Petersfield Deanery is linked.
As the Vicar of St James, Agona Swedru the Venerable Archdeacon Benjamin Djan, is fully occupied, for in addition to his parochial duties as parish priest, he is also responsible to the Bishop for overseeing the various projects with which parishes in Cape Coast diocese are involved. Father Benjamin is also responsible for six outlying village churches in Agona Nyakrom (St Paul's), Bobikum (St Andrew's), Abadom (St Mary's) and Osafo (St Peter's and has one retired priest Canon Moses and a worker priest Canon Charles to help him. It is however difficult for the priests to visit the outlying churches as they have no transport and have to rely on taxis and lifts, so each church has a Catechist, who leads worship in their absence. The church building in Agona Swedru replaces an earlier one and though not yet complete is in a good state of repair. Those in the outlying villages are built of mud brick and are generally in a poor state, indeed the simple church building at Bobikum was washed away by the rains about ten years ago and services are still held in the open air.
- Bobikum PCC with temporary church and school
The church school at Agona Swedru consists of about eight mudbrick huts of which two cannot be used as they are in danger of collapse. Schooling is free, the teaching is in English, though Fante (the local language) is taught as a separate subject and the children seem keen to learn. Each of the outlying churches also has its own church school.
On the 2007 visit donations from the parishioners of St Peter's, were given to help the church and school at Agona Swedru and the church at Agona Nyakrom.
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Österåker-Östra Ryd
In February 2004 St Peter’s, Petersfield, and the Swedish parish of Österåker-Östra Ryd, part of the Church of Sweden, established a link with the signing of a formal agreement.
The agreement had the following objectives:
- To inspire each other to express our Christian faith.
- To make it possible for individuals and groups, young people, choirs and others to visit each other’s parishes and in that way exchange experiences and knowledge about life in churches and parishes in their respective countries.
- To arrange accommodation for visitors with local families both to reduce costs and to encourage contact between people in both parishes.
- To work together to enable young people to visit Taizé or similar.
- To encourage priests and deacons to work in each other's parishes..
Various visits have been made since the first contacts were established culminating in the visit by the Swedish Non Silentium Choir to Petersfield in May 2005 and the return visit by St Peter’s Choir to Sweden in September 2006.
- Osteraker Church
- Ostra Ryd Church
- Akersberga Church
- Rev'd Jan Bonander
The parish of Österåker-Östra Ryd is situated about 30 kilometres northeast from Stockholm and belongs to the Diocese of Stockholm, one of thirteen Swedish Dioceses. There are three churches; Österåker church, which dates from the 12th century, Östra Ryd church, dating from the 14th century and Åkersberga church, which was built in 1980 and is a part of the Åkersberga church centre, where almost all the parish personnel are based.
There are about 30/35,000 people resident in the parish which holds some three hundred services a year and there are more than five hundred baptisms, weddings and funerals. There are many activities for children and youth people, thirteen choirs, four for adults and nine for children. The parish also arranges activities for pensioners and others who are free during the day and. there is a counselling service.
The Rector is the Rev’d Jan Bonander and the staff includes six further priests.
The Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran community of faith manifested in parishes and dioceses. The Church of Sweden also has a national organisation; is an open national church, which working with a democratic organisation and through the ministry of the church, covers the whole nation.
The description Evangelical Lutheran means that at the Reformation it adopted the reforms to the medieval teaching and organisation common to all Protestant churches, following the more moderate line of Martin Luther in preference to the stricter purging in teaching and practice associated with John Calvin. The moderation of the Lutheran Reformation is nowhere better seen than in Sweden where the churches remained much the same, bishops were retained in charge of their dioceses and the liturgy only changed in certain respects.
A number of priests and other members of Osteraker-Ostra Ryd parish visited Petersfield for a week in 2003.
Non Silentium, one of the Swedish parish's choirs visited St Peter's in May 2005
....and St Peter's choir visited Sweden for four days in September 2006
St Alban's Church, West Leigh, Havant, Hampshire
- St Alban's Church
- Paul Smith - Vicar
- Cutting the "Link" cake!
The sun was shining brilliantly on Sunday, 4th February 2006 as the coach, full of St Peter’s parishioners, left for St Alban’s Church at West Leigh to celebrate the launch St Peter’s latest link.
After the words of welcome, a hymn specially written for the occasion by the Rev’d Paul Smith, vicar of St Alban’s and set to a familiar tune, was sung energetically by the congregation. While they did so Paul and Giles each lit a candle, on a specially decorated stand, and a third candle was lit during the final hymn by two people together, representing both churches, to symbolise the link. Collages made by the children were exchanged; St Alban’s Sunday Club had made one of St Peter and St Peter’s Junior Church one of St Alban.
Many of St Peter's congregation already knew Fr. Paul, a good friend of Toby Wright, a former curate, and a regular visitor to Petersfield. We were delighted when Paul became Vicar of St Alban's in July 2005. That was when the idea of a local link between that parish and ours was first suggested.
Set in a dip just off the main road through the edge of Leigh Park, on the outskirts of Havant and about twelve mile south of Petersfield St Alban's is a modern church, dating from 1966. The modern Scandinavian style of the building with a large cross as its focal point, its striking roof beams and big windows give the church a feeling of simplicity, openness and light, and many find it refreshingly different from the image of the traditional rural parish church.
It has a good-sized church hall, conveniently attached to the church in the same building, an enthusiastic choir and a flourishing Sunday School for children, known as the Sunday Club. Paul describes the type of churchmanship there as 'open catholic', and its regular congregation for Sunday worship averages between sixty and seventy people. It has a good relationship with the local community, including the church-aided primary school, which Paul visits on a weekly basis to take assembly. The church hall is hired by a number of organisations, among them the Brownies, the Friday Lunch Club for senior citizens which attracts between thirty and forty people each week, and shortmat bowling, Keep Fit and line dancing groups.
A Short History of St Alban's
Before the Second World War the area now known as West Leigh was farm land, but during hostilities the Navy built a camp there consisting of a number of huts surrounding a large building which formed the kitchen and dining hall. When peace came the Navy departed and the huts were used to house displaced persons. Later dwellings began to spring up for people made homeless by the bombing of Portsmouth and a community began to develop in the area. The Rector of Havant, the Revd Canon Philip Duke-Baker, seeing the need for a Sunday School at West Leigh started one in the former Naval kitchen. In time a small band of enthusiasts transformed this into what became a much-loved little church.
However as more houses were built, church numbers increased and it became clear that a larger, purpose built building was needed. Plans were drawn up and a campaign to raise the necessary funds was launched. Building work began on 25th November 1965 when the foundation stone was laid and the new church was dedicated on 16th July 1966.
St Alban, to whom the church is dedicated, is the first British martyr. Alban had been converted to Christianity in 304AD by a priest named Amphibalus. This was a time when Christians were being hunted down and persecuted and in order to allow Amphibalus to escape from his pursuers, Alban disguised himself in the priest's cloak and was taken, tried and martyred.